Fresh From the Bench: Latest Precedential Patent Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

Promptu Systems Corporation v. Comcast Corporation, Appeal No. 2022-1939 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 16, 2024)

Our Case of the Week focuses on a district court’s claim construction rulings in a patent case brought against Comcast concerning speech recognition technology used in cable television networks. 

The complaint in this case was filed in 2016.  From 2018 to 2020, the case was stayed pending disposition of inter partes reviews related to the patents.  Appeals from those IPRs have been heard by the Federal Circuit.  Back at the district court, during the Markman process, which took place before the completion of discovery, the district court largely adopted Comcast’s proposed constructions.  The parties then stipulated to a dismissal of the case, pending appeal of the claim construction decisions.

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ALSO THIS WEEK

Promptu Systems Corporation v. Comcast Corporation, Appeal No. 2022-1093 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 16, 2024)

In a separate order, the Court admonished an attorney at Weil, Gotschal, representing Comcast, for violating court rules by incorporating by reference portions of briefs within other briefs before the Court, which would have resulted in Comcast exceeding the word limits set by the Federal Circuit.  The Court relied on Microsoft Corp. v. DataTern, Inc., 755 F.3d 899, 910 (Fed. Cir. 2014), in which the same law firm was admonished for precisely the same violation.  The Court found the attorneys’ explanation of being unaware of the rule unreasonable.  However, it declined to order sanctions.  It did provide this cautionary, precedential note to “future litigants”:

(1) it is improper to incorporate material from one brief by reference into another unless in compliance with Fed. R. App. P. 28; (2) in no event is such incorporation permitted if it would result in exceeding the applicable word count; and (3) violating these provisions in the future will likely result in sanctions.

The opinion can be found here.

Editors:

Nika Aldrich, IP Litigation Group Leader, Schwabe

Jason A. Wrubleski, Shareholder