The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia in E-Z-GO v. Club Car, Inc. (Case No. 1:09-cv-119) has stayed the litigation of E-Z-GO’s patent pending the outcome of inter partes reexamination. E-Z-GO asserts that two of Club Car’s currently marketed electric vehicles infringe U.S. Patent No. 7,332,881, entitled “AC Drive System for Electrically Operated Vehicle.” The court granted Club Car’s motion to stay the litigation pending the outcome of reexamination despite the fact that the PTO has not yet granted Club Car’s request for inter partes reexamination of the ‘881 patent. In granting the stay, the court noted that the PTO grants 95% of all requests for inter partes reexamination, and that the stay could be lifted if the PTO declines to grant Club Car’s request for inter partes reexamination.
