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Services Available
Our experience is that a good settlement can often result in advantageous business solutions. We can bring magistrates, mediators, and arbitrators to the table to help craft win-win scenarios. When settlement becomes an option close to or during trial, our deep bench of talent enables us to turn to additional experienced lawyers to address settlement strategies, while allowing the litigation team to remain focused on the trial.
Representative Engagements
A complete ITC victory for Halliburton
Petredat sought an ITC order excluding Halliburton’s petroleum well-data recorders from importation and sale in the U.S. Early in the proceedings, we showed Petredat why Halliburton’s products were not covered by the Petredat patent, why the Petredat patent was invalid, why Petredat lacked a good-faith basis for filing its complaint, and after we identified counterclaims that Halliburton could assert against Petredat, the ITC case was promptly settled without trial.
A series of victories for Zoran results in a favorable settlement
We represented Zoran in two ITC investigations against MediaTek involving optical disk controller chips, acting as co-counsel with another firm. In Zoran’s affirmative case against MediaTek, the administrative law judge found in favor of Zoran after trial, and the commission ultimately entered an exclusion order against MediaTek’s infringing chips and products of many of its customers. In MediaTek’s case against Zoran, the judge exonerated Zoran’s products after a trial and found one of the two asserted patents invalid. Following issuance of the exclusion order in the first case, we also obtained a favorable ruling before the Customs Service excluding MediaTek’s supposed design-around chip. That series of victories resulted in a very favorable settlement.
Abbott Laboratories’ dominance in the coronary stent market is protected
Abbott Laboratories’ motion to enforce a settlement agreement with Medinol Ltd. was recently granted. The court adopted Abbott’s interpretation of a settlement between the parties, which gave Abbott an unrestricted license to Medinol’s stent patents. After a two-week jury trial on the validity of Medinol’s remaining patent claims (but before the jury verdict was announced), the parties settled. When a disagreement arose over a material term during the drafting of the settlement agreement, Finnegan went back to court to enforce the agreement as the parties had stated on the record.
Finnegan acts quickly after secure certification exam compromised
When an organization that certifies medical personnel discovered that its secure certification exam had been compromised, Finnegan acted quickly to minimize the harm by obtaining an expedited certificate of registration from the U.S. Copyright Office and negotiating a favorable settlement for the client.
Gold Peak Battery Company avoids trial and maintains a competitive position
Finnegan defended four different affiliates of GP Batteries International Ltd. in an alkaline battery patent infringement case filed by Eveready at the International Trade Commission against 26 respondents. SEC records indicated that Duracell had previously paid Eveready $20 million for a license under the Eveready patent and that Rayovac and Panasonic had also been forced into paying Eveready a royalty for their alkaline batteries. Working closely with the Chairman of the Board, we devised a defense that resulted in a settlement agreement prior to trial that other respondents characterized as a "walk-away" deal.
Organon Teknika–U.S. market remains open for virus diagnosis and quantification kits
We represented Organon Teknika against Hoffman-La Roche’s patent infringement claims in the ITC. Hoffman-La Roche asserted that its patents for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were infringed by Organon’s nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) kits for diagnosis and quantification of certain viruses. We reached a favorable settlement agreement without trial, thereby permitting Organon to market its NASBA kits in the U.S.
Owner of patents for advance processor design obtains favorable settlement with Intel
In a case that was settled ”on the courthouse steps,” Finnegan was able to obtain for its client BIAX Corporation a favorable settlement with Intel. During claim construction, BIAX’s construction prevailed on the issues important for infringement, which helped lead to the favorable settlement.
Protecting the patents of a household name
The market for high-end, large-capacity, technologically advanced washing machines is intensely competitive. When LG entered the U.S.market, Whirlpool, Maytag, and Fischer & Paykel each sued LG, claiming LG’s washers infringed their patents. Not one prevailed, and LG remains in this important market. In each case, we employed an aggressive pretrial strategy based on team work. The asserted Fischer & Paykel patent stands rejected in a reexamination. The Maytag case was settled, as were two other infringement actions between Whirlpool and LG. In the third Whirlpool action, the judge granted summary judgment of no infringement on one patent and invalidity of the other patent.
Protecting the trademark of a household name
When LG’s “Life’s Good” and “LG Life’s Good” corporate taglines were challenged, the company turned to Finnegan. On the eve of the trial, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss with prejudice all claims. The “Life’s Good” campaign and mark continue to run globally for a wide range of products. The firm has also protected and defended some of LG’s most critical patents.
Proving first-to-invent status in interference involving metal alloys
We represented Allegheny Ludlum Co. against Allied-Signal in the area of iron-boron-silicon amorphous metal alloys. Despite having junior party status, we proved that the Allegheny inventors were the first to invent and the PTO ruled that they were entitled to the award of priority. Allied-Signal brought a Section 146 action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The parties settled the case after discovery and trial, but before a decision by the court.
Success for Tyco in fast-moving case
We represented Tyco Healthcare in bringing a complaint against Absormex for importation of infringing absorbent garments from Mexico. The investigation was one of the fastest ITC cases to get to trial, with a trial date less than six months from the start of the investigation. On the last day before the trial was to begin, a favorable settlement was reached, and the case was terminated.
Successfully defending Fujitsu in the largest-ever ITC investigation
We defended Fujitsu in the largest-ever ITC investigation involving 10 different Texas Instruments’ DRAM patents. More than 450 motions were decided by the ITC judge, and there were three separate trials. The claims against Fujitsu were settled before a final decision on the merits.
Successfully defending GTECH against infringement accusations
Finnegan client GTECH Corporation was sued in the Eastern District of Texas for patent infringement by Flashmark Technologies and various individuals. GTECH sells lottery terminals and tickets, and Flashmark accused the company of infringing a patent related to document cancellation. The court issued its Markman decision, construing the claims in a way that precluded a finding of infringement against GTECH. Following this decision, the parties filed a stipulation of noninfringement.
Trial victory in case involving commercial air conditioner components
Finnegan successfully defended York International in an action where American Standard alleged infringement of two patents, one on commercial air conditioner controls and the other on condensers. Trane claimed actual damages of approximately $122 million, together with prejudgment interest, a trebling of damages, attorneys fees, and an injunction. Had Trane fully prevailed in those claims, damages could have topped $400 million. The jury concluded that one of the Trane patents was not infringed, and that both patents were invalid. The court entered American Standard's post trial motion and granted York's fee request. After the court awarded York in excess of $1,500,000 in fees and costs, the case was settled.
U.S. market remains open for TEAC Corporation
We defended TEAC in an ITC case brought by Tandon Industries involving the head assemblies in floppy disk drives. While a temporary exclusion order was granted against all respondents, we later established that TEAC's head assemblies were not covered by the patent. The matter was favorably settled on behalf of TEAC before the hearing on permanent relief, and the noninfringement position we devised was successfully asserted by the remaining respondent. That noninfringement defense was adopted by the judge, the full ITC, and ultimately, the Federal Circuit.
Winbond Electronics prevails in complex ITC case
We defended Winbond against Oak Technology’s patent infringement claims concerning controller chips for optical disks. After we successfully defended against Oak’s motions for summary judgment, we filed a motion to compel production of Oak’s attorney-client communications based on the crime/fraud exception, and the case was promptly settled without a trial.
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