WASHINGTON, October 5, 2004 LAWFUEL – Best law news, legal, patent, law firm, law research— Hogan & Hartson intellectual property litigators Morris Waisbrot, William F. Haigney, and Douglas A. Donofrio have won a significant victory in an appeal of what was reportedly the largest patent case ever brought before the International Trade Commission. The appeal was prosecuted on behalf of Gemstar-TV Guide, International.
On September 15, 2004, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the ITC had erred in construing the claims of two Gemstar patents relating to the company’s Interactive Program Guide (IPG) technology. Although the Federal Circuit rarely overturns ITC decisions, in this instance the Court held that the ITC had misconstrued all four disputed claim terms of one patent and both disputed claim terms of another. As a result, the Court vacated the ITC’s rulings that intervenor Scientific-Atlanta, Inc., did not infringe the two patents. The Court also reversed the ITC’s ruling that one of the patents was unenforceable for failure to name a co-inventor. In addition to reviving Gemstar’s infringement claims in the ITC, the Federal Circuit’s decision paves the way for Gemstar to pursue substantial infringement
