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District Court vs. USPTO Patent Reexamination Analysis (BPAI Informative Opinion in Ex Parte Baxter International, Inc.)
Different standards lead to different results in patent reexamination and district court litigation
During district court patent infringement litigation between Baxter and Fresenius, Fresenius requested reexamination of Baxter’s patents relating to hemodialysis machines with touch screen interfaces. At trial, the jury returned a verdict finding the patents invalid. However, the trial judge overturned the jury’s verdict. Fresenius then appealed the decision to the Federal Circuit.
The Federal Circuit overruled the trial judge on one of the patents-in-suit, finding that substantial evidence supported the jury’s finding of obviousness. On another patent-in-suit, the Federal Circuit sided with Baxter that Fresenius had not proven patent claim invalidity by clear and convincing evidence.
In the reexamination proceeding on a third patent-in-suit, the USPTO finally rejected the patent claims forcing Baxter to file an appeal Read the rest of this entry »
