Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 30 AUGUST 2022

Rigidly Interpreting Precedents May Foreclose An Equitable Doctrine

The Federal Circuit's Judge Bryson has been presiding over two district court cases where he decided an important and recurring issue regarding collateral estoppel.

United StatesIntellectual Property

The Federal Circuit's Judge Bryson has been presiding over two district court cases where he decided an important and recurring issue regarding collateral estoppel. In a consolidated order, he refused to apply collateral estoppel to certain fact-finding by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on what prior art publications disclose relative to patent claims the patent owner contends are infringed. IOENGINE, LLC v. PayPal Holdings, Inc., Nos. 18-cv-452-WCB and 18-cv-826-WCB, Dkts. 511 and 450, respectively (D. Del. June 15, 2022) (Memorandum Opinion and Order). Until the Federal Circuit clearly addresses this issue, his decision may influence district judges facing the same issue.

In these cases, the patent owner asserted infringement of claims in two patents. Soon thereafter, one of the accused infringers successfully petitioned the Board to institute inter partes review of these claims. Only three asserted claims—all dependent claims—survived the review (and an appeal

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

See more popular content from