Shedding Light On How To Plead Inequitable Conduct

Order Denying Motion to Dismiss. iLife Technologies Inc. v. AliphCom, Case No. 14-cv-03345-WHO

Pleading inequitable conduct—fraud on the Patent Office (PTO) by withholding or misrepresenting material information—can be a tricky exercise when defending against a claim of patent infringement.  Though the Federal Circuit made clear in Therasense v. Becton Dickinson that there is a heightened standard for proving the inequitable conduct, it left open the question of whether this heightened standard also applies to pleading the defense.  Accordingly, parties pleading inequitable conduct are left with uncertainty in how detailed their allegations must be, especially for issues such as the required element of specific intent to deceive the PTO.  Judge William Orrick's decision in iLife Technologies gives guidance as to this issue.