Title:
Defenses Other than Invalidity, Noninfringement and Misuse
Author:
Martin J. Adelman
Chapter Summary
ABSTRACT TEXT:
This chapter from Patent Law Perspectives examines court cases involving defenses other than invalidity, noninfringement, and misuse. Kraftco Corp. v. Beatrice Foods Co. is examined.
The chapter discusses laches, estoppel, and denial of injunctive relief. In Hughes Aircraft Co. v. General Instrument Corp., the defendant sought to bolster a claim of laches by tacking to its own a period of alleged infringement by its predecessor. The court rejected the attempt. It pointed out that as long as the infringement action was instituted within the six years of the statute of limitations the defense of laches would have no merit.
The chapter also covers failure to mark and mismarking. Finally the chapter addresses notice. The chapter looks at several cases, including Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. Brunner & Lay, Inc., where the Florida district court held that the mere sending of a letter from the patent owner notifying the defendant of the issuance of its patent on the “fully threaded” drill rod, at a time when the defendant had knowingly copied and was producing the fully threaded drill rod, constituted adequate actual notice of infringement.
Patent Law Perspectives (Matthew Bender) contains an analysis of developments in patent law and the effects of these developments on current and future practice. This exhaustive treatise covers many topics, such as patent validity and infringement, as well as remedies relating to patent infringement; court procedures; arbitration; Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) practice; court review of PTO decisions; the licensing and sale of patents; taxation; government proceedings, contracts, and awards; trade secrets and unfair competition; and the lack of candor in the PTO and fraudulent procurement.