Intellectual Property Case Summaries

[08/27] Gander Mountain Co. v. Cabela's, Inc.
In a case arising from a contract dispute involving a 1996 transaction between the parties, summary judgment for plaintiff on a counterclaim, finding that a provision at issue was unenforceable because it was merely an agreement to agree, is affirmed over claims that the district court violated the law-of-the-case doctrine and erred in granting summary judgment.

[08/25] Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
In a dispute over two patents for tobacco curing processes, judgment of unenforceability of both patents due to inequitable conduct and summary judgment of invalidity of all asserted claims due to indefiniteness are reversed and remanded where: 1) the evidence did not support findings of either deceptive intent or materiality with respect to the inequitable-conduct claims; and 2) a claim term construed by the district court clearly delineated the bounds of claim scope and was therefore not indefinite.

[08/21] Leggett & Platt, Inc. v. VUTEk, Inc.
In a suit claiming infringement of a patent for an ink-jet printing method, summary judgment of invalidity is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff did not produce evidence to create an issue of fact on whether defendant's prior patent inherently anticipated certain claims in plaintiff's patent; and 2) other claims were properly invalidated as obvious in light of the anticipation finding.

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