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Can Inequitable Conduct be Cured Via Patent Reexamination?
Last Friday two decisions of the Federal Circuit touched upon patent reexamination practices. In this post we will examine the first decision, Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc. v. Universal Security Instruments, Inc./Shanghai Meihao Electric Inc. v. Leviton Manufacturing Company, Inc.
In this decision, the question of whether or not inequitable conduct may be cured in a subsequent, post-grant proceeding of the USPTO was considered.
The question before the CAFC in Levitton was whether or not a summary judgment finding of inequitable conduct in the district court should stand. Perhaps, being overly cautious in view of the pending en banc review in Theresense, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co., and indicating that summary judgment of inequitable conduct is the rare case, the court reversed the lower court. Confusingly however, the majority indicated that conduct during patent reexamination may be indicative of a “good faith” intent. Read the rest of this entry »
