Author Archives: Steven Callahan

S.D. Cal. Finds Litigation Funding Agreement And Materials Are Work Product

On October 20, 2020, the Southern District of California issued an order in Impact Engine, Inc. v. Google LLC (available here). In the order, Judge Bencivengo found that a litigation-funding agreement and related materials were protected from discovery under the … Continue reading

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Attempting to Litigate Invalidated Patent Leads to “Exceptional” Case Attorney Fees

On October 13, 2020, the District of Delaware issued a memorandum opinion in Rothschild Digital Confirmation LLC v. CompanyCam, Inc. (available here). The Court ordered the Rothschild entity to pay the patent-infringement defendant’s attorney’s fees after it found Rothschild’s loss … Continue reading

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Are All RPX And Unified Patents Members Real Parties In Interest For IPRs?

On October 2, 2020, the PTAB issued a key decision in RPX Corporation v. Applications in Internet Time, LLC (available here) finding that Salesforce was a real party in interest to an RPX inter partes review (and, as such, declining … Continue reading

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D. Del. Rejects Attempt To Avoid Litigation-Funding Questions On Relevance Grounds

On October 1, 2020, the District of Delaware’s Magistrate Judge Burke issued an oral order in Red Hat, Inc. v. Sequoia Technology, LLC (available here). Magistrate Judge Burke held that it is improper to instruct a witness not to answer … Continue reading

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E.D. Pa. Finds Litigation Funding Materials Discoverable and Not Privileged

On September 16, 2020, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a decision in Midwest Athletics & Sports Alliance LLC v. Ricoh USA, Inc. (available here). The decision finds litigation-funding materials discoverable, and rejected a common-interest privilege argument. It further finds … Continue reading

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Texas District Courts Must Impose COVID Safety Protocols At In-Person Depositions

On September 15, 2020, a Texas appellate court issued its opinion in In re Landstar Ranger, Inc. (available here). The Sixth Appellate District mandamused the district court and held that, if a district court will require an in-person deposition, it … Continue reading

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Attorney Fee Rates Up to $1,210/Hour Found Reasonable in Patent Case Litigated in Northern District of Texas

On June 12, 2020, Magistrate Judge Rutherford issued an opinion in the Industrial Print Technologies cases (available here) addressing a request for attorney’s fees. The District Court had previously determined that Defendants Cenveo and O’Neil Data Systems were entitled to … Continue reading

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IPR Fees Are Not Available Under Section 285 Of The Patent Act

So holds the Federal Circuit in its June 4, 2020 Amneal v. Almirall decision (available here). In the case, the Federal Circuit denied Almirall’s request for fees incurred for work on an IPR filed against an Almirall patent by Amneal. … Continue reading

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Trademark Owner Need Not Prove Willfulness To Obtain Defendant’s Profits

On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Romag Fasteners v. Fossil, Inc. (decision available here). The Court found that a plaintiff can obtain the defendant’s profits even without showing that defendant willfully infringed the plaintiff’s trademark. … Continue reading

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Litigation Funding Materials Ruled Irrelevant And Not Discoverable

Here’s an important decision from Chief Judge Stark from the District of Delaware regarding the non-discoverability of communications with litigation funders. Chief Judge Stark found that defendants were not entitled to obtain discovery regarding (i) potential investments by third parties … Continue reading

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