Asetek Danmark A/S v CMI USA, Inc., Case No.
13-cv-00457 (JST) (Tigar, J)
Patent litigation can be an expensive process for a defendant.
That is why it is tempting for a defendant to try to exit a case as
early as possible. Doing so, however, may not insulate a company
from risk despite its absence in the case. Asetek Danmark
v. CMI is a case in point.
Asetek sued Cooler Master, Ltd. and its United States
distributor CMI USA for infringing Asetek's patents through the
sale of Cooler Master's CPU cooling products. Given that CMI
handled U.S. distribution of the accused products, Cooler Master
and Asetek stipulated to Cooler Master's dismissal from the
case. The case proceeded to trial and Asetek obtained both a jury
verdict and a permanent injunction against the accused products.
Judge Jon Tigar further concluded that the injunction properly
included both CMI as well as Cooler Master, due to the Judge's
determination that Cooler Master acted in "active concert
