{"id":3845,"date":"2021-02-03T17:35:18","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T17:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/omnilegalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=3845"},"modified":"2021-07-02T04:22:26","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T04:22:26","slug":"preparation-for-patent-infringement-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omnilegalgroup.com\/blog\/preparation-for-patent-infringement-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is it important to properly prepare before filing a patent infringement lawsuit?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Patent<\/p>\n

Proper Preparation is Key Before Taking Legal Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Filing a lawsuit that alleges patent infringement<\/a> is a serious matter. The outcome of the legal action can have significant financial ramifications for both the prevailing party and the losing party. This is why proper preparation is absolutely critical. When a party fails to invest the time to properly prepare, there can be significant legal consequences and remedies that can be levied by a court.<\/p>\n

Recoverable Attorney Fees in \u201cExceptional\u201d Cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to 35 U.S.C. \u00a7 285, attorney fees can be awarded in \u201cexceptional\u201d patent infringement cases.\u00a0 You may be asking yourself, \u201cwhat exactly is an exceptional infringement case?\u201d Well, an exceptional case is determined by the court and is typically based on the totality of the circumstances.\u00a0 A patent infringement case can be considered exceptional because of a substantive legal position or because one of the party\u2019s utilized unreasonable litigation tactics. In many instances, courts have awarded attorney fees to a prevailing defendant when the plaintiff was not justified in filing the patent infringement lawsuit in the first place.<\/p>\n

An example of a court ordering attorney fees as a result of poor preparation can be found in ThermoLife International LLC v. GNC Corp<\/u>., 922 F.3d 1347 (Fed.Cir. 2019). In this case, the District Court for the Southern District of California awarded attorney fees to the defendant because the plaintiffs did not adequately investigate the issue of the defendant\u2019s alleged infringement prior to filing the infringement lawsuit.<\/p>\n

For context, ThermoLife licensed four patents from Stanford University. The patents covered specific compositions of amino acids. The patents also covered a unique method for using those amino acids that promoted vascular function and improved performance in individuals. Subsequently, ThermoLife alleged that GNC infringed on these patented amino acid compositions and methodology.<\/p>\n

Here is the problem \u2013 ThermoLife did not conduct the necessary pre-suit investigatory work before taking legal action.\u00a0 In fact, the defendants in the lawsuit went so far as to say that if ThermoLife simply took the time to read the labels on the defendants\u2019 products and performed simple tests, then ThermoLife would have realized that no infringement took place.<\/p>\n

A motion for attorney fees was filed pursuant to the aforementioned 35 U.C.S. \u00a7 285 and granted by the court. The Federal Circuit determined that ThermoLife failed to conduct an adequate pre-filing investigation which resulted in \u201cobjectively unreasonable\u201d allegations of infringement. The court stated that the facts indicated ThermoLife failed to read the defendants\u2019 product labels and or conduct basic testing.\u00a0 The court went further and described the pre-filing investigation of ThermoLife as \u201cseverely lacking\u201d which led to the filing \u201cfrivolous claims.\u201d ThermoLife appealed the award of attorney fees. However, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court\u2019s judgement of attorney fees. Ouch.<\/p>\n

Takeaway<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The lesson from the ThermoLife case is fairly clear \u2013 take the time to conduct a sufficient pre-filing investigation of infringement before deciding to actually move forward with a patent infringement case. If you skimp on the pre-filing investigation, it can come back to haunt you in the form of a large award of attorney fees for opposing counsel.<\/p>\n

Need Answers to Questions About Potentially Filing a Patent Lawsuit? Contact the Omni Legal Group Today<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

If you have questions related to filing a patent lawsuit, whether you have a provisional patent, non-provisional patent, design patent, utility patent, or plant patent application, it is in your best interest to obtain the counsel of a highly reputable patent litigation attorney<\/a> such as the Omni Legal Group.<\/p>\n

Omni Legal Group is a premier Patent, Trademark, and Copyright law firm with offices in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills. For further information or to schedule a consultation please contact Omni Legal Group at 855.433.2226<\/a><\/strong> or visit\u00a0 www.OmniLegalGroup.com<\/strong><\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Proper Preparation is Key Before Taking Legal Action Filing a lawsuit that alleges patent infringement is a serious matter. The outcome of the legal action can have significant financial ramifications for both the prevailing party and the losing party. This is why proper preparation is absolutely critical. When a party fails to invest the time…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-patent-and-trademark","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Is It Important To Properly Prepare Before Filing A Patent Infringement Lawsuit?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you have any questions related to filing a patent lawsuit. 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