Law360’s midyear snapshot of patent opinions issued by the Federal Circuit reveals eight firms are coming out on top after oral arguments, chalking up wins in high-stakes intellectual property battles before the federal appeals court.
McCarter & English secured a victory for Waters Technologies Corp. in a dispute over its chromatography patent, a case in which the Federal Circuit threw out an appeal by Agilent Technologies Inc. challenging a re-examination decision that favored Waters Technologies, and finding that Agilent lacked a cause of action because it had not requested the reexamination.
Scott Christie, a partner at McCarter & English, said the firm’s growing body of work with AIA proceedings and subsequent appeals has helped its attorneys develop a good rule of thumb: Do the work long before the appeal stage.
“It’s really important to get it right at the PTAB. Follow the rules explicitly and make sure your briefs are top notch,” Christie said.