Fresh From the Bench: Latest Federal Circuit Court Cases
Contributed by Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. Originally published on Patexia; republished here as part of the LexDana archive.
CASE OF THE WEEK
Maxchief Investments Ltd. v. Wok & Pan, Ind., Inc., Appeal No. 2018-1121 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 29, 2018)
In its only precedential patent decision this week, the Federal Circuit addressed the extent to which a court has declaratory judgment jurisdiction in a given forum based on actions outside of that forum.
Wok is a Chinese company that makes folding tables and owns patents concerning same. Maxchief is a competitor and sells its tables through a distributor in Tennessee. In 2015, Wok sued Staples in California alleging patent infringement with respect to Staples’ sales of one of Maxchief’s tables. Staples sought indemnification from the Tennessee distributor, which sought indemnification from Maxchief.
Maxchief then filed a declaratory judgment action in Tennessee, seeking declaratory judgment of noninfringement and invalidity, as well as asserting a claim of tortious interference. The district court dismissed the suit.
Written by: Scott D. Eads and Nika Aldrich, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
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