Federal Circuit Finds Inequitable Conduct In False Rule 131 Declaration

In Intellect Wireless, Inc. v. HTC Corp., the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court decision holding Intellect's patents unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. This is a rare case where the applicant was found to have submitted a false declaration, and did not cure that misrepresentation.

The Patents at Issue

The patents at issue were Intellect's U.S. Patent 7,266,186 and U.S. Patent 7,310,416, directed to technology for the wireless transmission of caller identification (caller ID) information.

The Declaration at Issue

The declaration at issue was a Rule 131 Declaration submitted to antedate a reference. As summarized by the Federal Circuit, the inventor attested that "the claimed invention was actually reduced to practice and was demonstrated at a meeting . . . in July of 1993." However, the claimed subject matter never was actually reduced to practice. Thus, the declaration was false.