Federal Circuit Upholds Inequitable Conduct Post Therasense For Withheld Information

In American Calcar, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., the Federal Circuit upheld the district court's finding that three Calcar patents are unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. Both courts reached this decision of inequitable conduct post Therasense despite the fact that the validity of the patents over the information at issue had been upheld, and despite the lack of direct evidence of an intent to deceive. Judge Newman's dissent raises additional questions regarding the basis of the decision.

The Patents At Issue

The patents at issue were Calcar's U.S. Patents 6,330,497, 6,438,465, and 6,542,795, directed to "aspects of a multimedia system for use in a car to access vehicle information and control vehicle functions." As noted in the Federal Circuit decision, the patents "share a common specification and are derived from a priority application filed on January 28, 1997, which since issued as U.S. Patent No. 6,009,355."