Opinion ID: 536588
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gould's Antitrust Claim

Text: 14 Gould argues that the district court erred in dismissing his antitrust complaint for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). We review de novo a district court's dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Rutman Wine Co. v. E. & J. Gallo Winery, 829 F.2d 729, 732 (9th Cir.1987). 15 Gould relies on Walker Process Equipment Inc. v. Food Machinery & Chemical Corp., 382 U.S. 172, 86 S.Ct. 347, 15 L.Ed.2d 247 (1965), to establish his antitrust claim. In Walker Process the Supreme Court held that the enforcement of a patent procured by fraud on the Patent Office may be violative of Sec. 2 of the Sherman Act provided the other elements necessary to a Sec. 2 case are present. Id. at 174, 86 S.Ct. at 348. Gould's attempt to fit this case into a Walker Process action fails. Walker Process was an infringement action based on a claim that the defendants had sought to enforce the patent as a means to restrain competition. This case, on the other hand, began as a declaratory judgment action to determine actual ownership of the patent. This is not the kind of anticompetitive enforcement at which the antitrust laws are aimed. Gould has not alleged that CEL actually attempted to enforce the patents. Moreover, since the district court determined that the patents belong to Gould, CEL cannot enforce them. Without some effort at enforcement, the patent cannot serve as the foundation of a monopolization case. Gould has offered no other sufficient basis for his antitrust claim on this appeal. We accordingly conclude that the district court was correct in granting CEL's motion to dismiss Gould's antitrust claims. 16 Arizona antitrust law is interpreted in accordance with federal law. See Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. Sec. 44-1412; Johnson v. Pacific Lighting Land Co., 817 F.2d 601, 604 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1062, 108 S.Ct. 1020, 98 L.Ed.2d 985 (1988). Therefore, for the reasons stated above, we also uphold the district court's dismissal of Gould's state claims.