Rule of Reason : CAFC Alert

Patent Infringement Litigation as a Double-Edged Sword: Invalidated Patents and Inequitable Conduct

| December 6, 2013

The Ohio Willow Wood Company (OWW) v. ALPS South LLC. (Alps)

Decided November 15, 2013

Before Dyk (Circuit Judge), Bryson (Circuit Judge) and Reyna (Circuit Judge).  Opinion by Reyna.

Keywords: collateral estoppel, obviousness, inequitable conduct, reexamination, and rule of reason.

Summary:

OWW initiated a suit against Alps for patent infringement.  After a long legal battle including two ex parte reexaminations, two District Court proceedings, and two CAFC appeals, OWW lost two patents and was charged with inequitable conduct.

Details:

OWW is the owner of US Patent No. 5,830,237 (the ‘237 patent), entitled “Gel and Cushioning Devices,” filed on March 5, 1996.  The ‘237 patent disclosed cushioning devices designed to cover the residual stumps of amputated limbs, acting as a shape-conforming buffer, as illustrated below, to make the use of attached prostheses more comfortable.  The primary invention was a cushion liner comprising a fabric covering in the shape of a tube sock coated on only one side with mineral oil-based polymeric gels.

fig.1

On December 27, 2004, OWW filed its complaint against Alps for infringement of the ‘237 patent.  After the District Court issued its Claim Construction order in the proceedings, Alps filed its first request for an ex parte reexamination of the ‘237 patent.  The District Court stayed the litigation for the duration of reexamination proceedings, pending resolution of the validity of the disputed patent.
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