• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

McCarter & English Logo

  • People
  • Services
  • Insights
  • Our Firm
    • Leadership Team
    • Social Justice
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Pro Bono
    • Client Service Values
    • Alumni
  • Join Us
    • Lawyers
    • Summer Associates
    • Patent Professionals
    • Professional Staff
    • Job Openings
  • Locations
    • Boston
    • Philadelphia
    • East Brunswick
    • Indianapolis
    • Stamford
    • Hartford
    • Trenton
    • Miami
    • Washington, DC
    • New York
    • Wilmington
    • Newark
  • Share

Share

Browse Alphabetically:

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z
  • All
Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Litigation
Blockchain, Smart Contracts & Digital Currencies
Business Litigation
Cannabis
Coronavirus Resource Center
Corporate
Crisis Management
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Delaware Corporate, LLC & Partnership Law
Design, Fashion & Luxury
E-Discovery & Records Management
Energy & Utilities
Environment & Energy
Financial Institutions
Food & Beverage
Government Affairs
Government Contracts & Global Trade
Government Investigations & White Collar Defense
Healthcare
Hospitality
Immigration
Impact Investing
Insurance Recovery, Litigation & Counseling
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Life Sciences
Manufacturing
Products Liability, Mass Torts & Consumer Class Actions
Public Finance
Real Estate
Renewable Energy
Sports & Entertainment
Tax & Employee Benefits
Technology Transactions
Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Trusts, Estates & Private Clients
Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies
  • Broadcasts
  • Events
  • News
  • Publications
  • View All Insights
Search By:
Insights News Headline Stack
Main image for High Court Patent Laches Case May Lead To Bigger Damages
News|Quote

High Court Patent Laches Case May Lead To Bigger Damages

Law360

5.2.2016

After agreeing Monday to consider whether laches should remain a defense in patent lawsuits, the U.S. Supreme Court has a chance to strengthen the hand of patent owners by clearing the way for bigger damages awards in some cases, attorneys say.

The justices granted a petition for writ of certiorari by diaper maker SCA Hygiene Products AB challenging a decision that shut down its patent suit against rival First Quality Baby Products LLC based on laches, which bars legal remedies when a plaintiff unreasonably delays in filing suit.

The high court’s decision to take the case indicates that at least some of the justices are leaning toward taking away laches in patent cases the way they did in copyright cases, said Kia Freeman of McCarter & English LLP. If that’s how the high court rules, it would stand out from its other recent patent rulings.

“It’s interesting because a lot of decisions the Supreme Court has made recently on patent law have tended to weaken patents, but if they do eliminate laches in some regard, that would tend to strengthen patents,” she said. “Maybe they felt they’ve gone a little too far in weakening patents and saw this as a way to strengthen them.”

Freeman said she questioned the basic premise that standards for patent cases and copyright cases should be aligned, since the two forms of intellectual property are distinct in many ways.

“To me, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to try as hard as the Supreme Court seems to want to reconcile patent law and copyright law,” she said.

The Federal Circuit judges in the en banc majority “took pains to come up with a conciliatory decision that is consistent with as much law as possible,” Freeman said. “Today’s decision shows the Supreme Court is not in a conciliatory mood when it comes to the Federal Circuit.”

sidebar

pdfemail

Related People

Media item: Kia L. Freeman
Kia L. Freeman

Partner

Related Services

Intellectual Property
Subscribe to our Insights
McCarter & English, LLP
Copyright © 2023 McCarter & English, LLP. All Rights Reserved.
  • Login
  • Attorney Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Awards Methodology
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Sitemap

The McCarter & English, LLP website is for informational purposes only. We do not provide legal advice on this website. We can provide legal advice only to our clients in specific inquiries that they address to us. If you are interested in becoming a client, please contact us, but do not send any information about your specific legal question. We cannot serve as your lawyers until we establish an attorney-client relationship, which can occur only after we follow procedures within our firm and after we agree to the terms of the representation.

Accept Cancel