Opinion ID: 210293
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Disclose the Motorola Litigation

Text: Appellants argue that the district court failed to conduct an adequate comparison of the subject matter of the patents in the Motorola litigation with the claims of the patents in suit to determine whether Nilssen violated MPEP § 2001.06(c) [2] in failing to bring the litigation to the attention of the examiner. Appellants also argue that even if the existence of the litigation could be considered material to the examination of the patents, Motorola asserted only generalized allegations of invalidity in its case, so the degree of materiality of its litigation to the examination of Nilssen's patent applications was very low. Appellants add that the only evidence of intent to support the district court's decision was its discrediting of Nilssen's testimony that he was unaware of the relevant rule. Osram responds that Nilssen accused the same type of product of infringing his patents in the Motorola litigation as he accuses in this case, that three of the patents in suit are direct descendents of patents asserted in the Motorola litigation, and that all of the patents in suit and the patents asserted in the Motorola litigation relate to the same general subject matter. Osram also argues that the district court was correct to find the litigation highly material and that § 2001.06(c) was adjacent in the MPEP to provisions with which Nilssen was admittedly familiar. We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in holding eight patents unenforceable for inequitable conduct based upon Nilssen's failure to disclose the Motorola litigation. It is clear from the language of § 2001.06(c) that the existence of the litigation itself is material information that an examiner needs to have. It is important because it signals the examiner that other material information relevant to patentability may become available through the litigation proceedings. The PTO obviously considers such information material and there is no basis for us to conclude otherwise. We therefore affirm the district court's holding that the '123, '043, '386, '409, '074, '160, '680, and '681 patents are unenforceable for inequitable conduct in failing to disclose the Motorola litigation.