In Cherdak v. Vock et al., Eastern District of Virginia Judge Liam O’Grady dismissed antitrust claims filed by an inventor against Apple, Nike, and PhatRat. The plaintiff alleged that a fitness monitoring system sold by Apple and Nike infringed his patents. Apple and Nike licensed patent rights from PhatRat, a company that, the plaintiff alleged, […]
Category Archives: Patent Litigation
FTC Pay-for-Delay Drug Patent Challenge Fails
May 1, 2012 – 4:53 pm
In FTC v. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. et al., the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the FTC’s complaint alleging that Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. and manufacturers of generics versions of Androgel violated the antitrust laws by settling patent claims through an arrangement in which the branded drug company paid the generics to keep […]
Antitrust Challenge to Flash Memory Maker Dismissed with Leave to Amend
May 1, 2012 – 4:49 pm
In PNY Technologies Inc. v. SanDisk Corp., Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers held that the plaintiff failed to properly allege anticompetitive effect, but permitted PNY to amend its complaint. The case involves allegations than SanDisk used the threat of patent litigation to force potential licensees to enter anticompetitive licensing agreements. The court […]
EU Investigates Motorola’s Smartphone Patent Conduct for Antitrust Violations
April 20, 2012 – 9:29 pm
The European Union’s antitrust regulator opened two formal investigations to determine whether Motorola Mobility Inc. violated its FRAND commitment to EU’s patent standard-setting organizations by disrupting competition in the EU market with its standard-essential patents for smartphones and other devices. The EC launched these investigations in response to Apple and Microsoft accusing Motorola of unfairly […]
Class Certification Denied In Pineapple Sham Patent Suit
March 20, 2012 – 3:50 pm
In Conroy v. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. et al., California First District Court of Appeal upheld the denial of class certification in a case filed by direct and indirect purchasers, accusing Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. of securing a patent for a variety of pineapple that it knew to be unpatentable and subsequently using […]
Essential Patents Cannot Block Smartphones from European Markets
March 19, 2012 – 3:09 pm
The European Union’s competition chief, Joaquin Alumnia, in a speech prepared for EU lawmakers, vowed to stop mobile-device makers from using litigation over standard-essential patents to block their rivals’ smartphones and tablets from European markets. Almunia warned device makers against trying to take unfair advantage of European wireless standards’ key patents, which are “essential” to […]
Pfizer Faces Suit by Health Plans Regarding Its Efforts to Delay Generic Lipitor
March 2, 2012 – 3:52 pm
Pfizer has been sued in a putative class action in the Southern District of New York by a group of health and welfare benefit plans who claim that Pfizer filed sham patent applications and colluded with Ranbaxy Inc. to delay the introduction of generic competitors to its cholesterol treatment Lipitor. The complaint alleges that Pfizer […]
EC Competition Regulator Investigates Samsung Patent Licensing, Litigation
March 2, 2012 – 3:48 pm
The European Commission is investigating whether Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. anticompetitively abused its patent rights by suing to block the sale of rival smartphones and other mobile devices based on patents that are part of wireless technology standards. The EC will focus on whether Samsung’s litigation violate EU antitrust law as well as Samsung’s irrevocable […]
Microsoft Challenges Motorola/Google’s Patent Practices in EC Competition Complaint
March 2, 2012 – 3:46 pm
Microsoft Corp. has filed a competition complaint against Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., and its soon-to-be parent Google Inc., with the European Commission, claiming that Motorola charges too much for its patents and is trying to head off sales of Microsoft products. Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner opined in a blog post that Motorola is […]
DOJ and EC Approve Google Acquisition of Motorola, Other Technology Patent Transactions
March 2, 2012 – 3:45 pm
Both the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and the European Commission have approved Google Inc.’s $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. after intense scrutiny of how Google’s acquisition of Motorola’s intellectual property would give its Android operating system leverage in the wireless market. The DOJ said the licensing of vital “standard essential” […]