ANDA Filings Create Personal Jurisdiction Everywhere

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In Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. v, Mylan Pharmaceutical Inc., [2015-1460) (March 18, 2016), the Federal Circuit affirmed that Mylan was subject to specific personal jurisdiction in the District of Delaware,  The Federal Circuit said that under Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(k)(1)(A), the district court had personal jurisdiction over Mylan if Mylan would be “subject to the jurisdiction of a court of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located,” and there is no dispute that Mylan would be subject to Delaware courts’ jurisdiction under Delaware’s long-arm statute, Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, § 3104, as long as Delaware’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over Mylan would be consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

The Federal Circuit noted that Mylan had taken the costly, significant step of applying to the FDA for approval to engage in future activities—including the marketing of its generic drugs— that will be purposefully directed at Delaware (and, it is undisputed, elsewhere). The Federal Circuit said that if Mylan had already begun its deliberate marketing of these drugs in Delaware, there is no doubt that it could be sued for infringement in Delaware. The Federal Circuit concluded that the minimum-contacts standard is satisfied by the particular actions Mylan has already taken—its ANDA filings—for the purpose of engaging in injury-causing and allegedly wrongful marketing conduct in Delaware.

 

PTAB Can’t Rely on Anticipation Argument first Made during the Oral Hearing

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In Dell Inc, v, Acceleron, LLC, [2015-1513, -1514](March 15, 2016) the Federal Circuit affirmed the confirmation of claims, but remanded the cancellation of two claims for reconsideration in view of corrected claim construction.  At issue was the claim language “a microcontroller module and a dedicated ethernet path, wherein the dedicated ethernet path is separate from a switched fast ethernet connection and provides the microcontroller module with a connection to remotely poll the CPU module, the power module and the ethernet switch module.”  The Board concluded, that it is enough that there be an ethernet path that would provide a connection for polling if the microcontroller were configured for, and engaged in, remote polling of the three identified modules.  The Federal Circuit held that this construction runs counter to the claimconstruction principle that meaning should be given to all of a claim’s terms, denying any substantial meaning to “remotely poll.”

Also at issue was the anticipation of the claim limitation “caddies” which the Federal Circuit found was first identified in the reference during the oral argument before the Board.  The Federal Circuit vacated the finding of anticipation because the Board denied the patent owner notice and a fair opportunity to respond to this basis of cancellation.  The Federal Circuit explained that a patent owner is undoubtedly entitled to notice of and a fair opportunity to meet the grounds of rejection.  The Federal Circuit said that for a formal adjudication like the inter partes, the APA imposes particular requirements on the PTO. The agency must timely inform the patent owner of the matters of fact and law asserted (5 U.S.C. § 554(b)(3)), must provide all interested parties opportunity for the submission and consideration of facts and arguments and hearing and decision on notice, (5 U.S.C. § 554(c)), and must allow a party to submit rebuttal evidence  as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts, (5 U.S.C. § 556(d)). The Federal Circuit noted that the PTO has advised participants in its Board proceedings that, at oral argument, a party may only present arguments relied upon in the papers previously submitted, and that no new evidence or arguments may be presented at the oral argument.  However, the Federal Circuit found that the Board denied the patent owner its procedural rights by relying in its decision on a factual assertion introduced into the proceeding only at oral argument, after the patent owner could meaningfully respond.

While a Nice Place, Canada is not the Best Place to Litigate U.S. IP

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In Halo Creative & Design Limited v. Comptoir des Indes Inc., [2015-1375] (March 14, 2016), the Federal Circuit reversed the Northern District of Illinois’ dismissal of Halo’s complaint for copyright, trademark and U.S. design patent infringement for forum non conveniens grounds because the Federal Court of Canada would be a superior forum.

Forum non conveniens, allows a court to dismiss a suit over which it would normally have jurisdiction if trial in a foreign forum would best serve the convenience of the parties and the ends of justice.  Whether dismissal would promote convenience and justice should be determined by weighing private and public interest factors. Private interest factors include the relative ease of access to sources of proof; availability of compulsory process for attendance of unwilling, and the cost of obtaining the attendance of unwilling, witnesses.  Public interest factors include congestion of the courts; the burden of jury duty imposed upon a community which has no relation to the litigation; a local interest in having localized controversies decided at home; and the potential for a conflict of laws.  The Federal Circuit found that Comptoir des Indes failed to meet its burden to show that Canada is a more appropriate forum for Halo’s claims of infringement of copyrights, trademarks, and patents in the United States.