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IP News
Supreme Court to Review Century-Old Precedent on Injunctions in Patent Cases
On Nov. 28, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari and will review the decision in MercExchange, LLC v. eBay Inc., 401 F.3d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2005). The question presented by the petition was:
Whether the Federal Circuit erred in setting forth a general rule in patent cases that a district court must, absent exceptional circumstances, issue a permanent injunction after a finding of infringement.
In granting the petition, the Court also directed the parties to brief and argue the following question:
Whether this Court should reconsider its precedents, including Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co., 210 U.S. 405, [28 S. Ct. 748, 52 L. Ed. 1122] (1908), on when it is appropriate to grant an injunction against a patent infringer.
MercExchange is the assignee of three patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,845,265 (“the '265 patent”), 6,085,176 (“the '176 patent”), and 6,202,051 (“the '051 patent”), which relate to e-commerce technology. Petitioner eBay Inc. is the owner and operator of a Web site that allows buyers and sellers to exchange goods by participating in live auctions or by purchasing at a fixed price. This case involves the fixed-price purchasing feature of eBay's Web site. The other defendants named in the lawsuit were Half.com, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay) and ReturnBuy, Inc. Prior to trial, ReturnBuy entered into a settlement agreement with MercExchange. At the conclusion of trial, a jury found that eBay had willfully infringed claims 8, 10-11, 13-15, 17-18, 20-22, and 26 of the '265 patent and had induced ReturnBuy to infringe claims 1, 4, 7, and 23 of the '265 patent and that Half.com had willfully infringed claims 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17-18, 20, 22, and 26-29 of the '265 patent and claims 1, 5-6, 29, 31-32, and 34-39 of the '176 patent. The jury also found that neither the '265 patent nor the '176 patent was invalid. As a result, the jury found eBay liable for $16 million and Half.com liable for $19 million.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.