Declaratory Judgment Counterclaims Give Defendants Control

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed in part and vacated in part a district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and remanded for further proceedings on the issues of invalidity. Old Town Canoe Co. v. Confluence Holdings Corp., Case No. 05-1123 (Fed. Cir. May 9, 2006) (Linn, J.; Mayer, J., dissenting).

The Federal Circuit first addressed Old Town’s appeal of the district court’s grant of defendant, Confluence’s motion for JMOL of no infringement. The Federal Circuit upheld the grant of JMOL after affirming the district court did not err in its claim construction and that it properly determined no reasonable juror could have found infringement.

Even though its affirmance of the district court’s JMOL of no infringement resolved Old Town’s claim, the Federal Circuit also addressed the invalidity issues. With respect to obviousness, the Federal Circuit held that a reasonable juror could have found support for the proposition that the patent