Opinion ID: 211157
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Microsoft, HP and Netgear

Text: 8 On April 11, 2003, CSIRO initiated licensing negotiations with HP. During a meeting on January 13, 2004, CSIRO explained its two-phase licensing program, wherein it would first make a formal licensing offer with royalty discounts that decreased over time, then pursue litigation against parties that failed to take a voluntary license. On May 10, 2004, counsel for CSIRO allegedly threatened HP's in-house counsel with a lawsuit if HP did not take a license. On June 21, 2004, CSIRO extended its formal offer, enclosing its proposed terms and a draft agreement. On October 13, 2004, CSIRO offered HP a temporary covenant not to sue (while it asserted the '069 patent against others) for $2.5 million, but HP did not accept. On December 20, 2004, as the 187-day offer period was nearing an end, CSIRO wrote HP, reiterating that it may decide to take further action against companies which have not availed themselves of the opportunity to have a voluntary license. Although it was not threatening to bring any action against HP at this time, CSIRO stressed that once the offer expired, a voluntary license may not necessarily be available thereafter at any price. A few days later, the offer expired. 9 On April 14, 2003, CSIRO initiated licensing negotiations with Netgear. CSIRO extended its formal licensing offer on August 10, 2004, enclosing its proposed licensing terms and a draft agreement. In the months that followed, Netgear made a few counterproposals, but the parties did not reach an agreement. The voluntary license period ended in February 2005. 10 On September 29, 2003, CSIRO also contacted Microsoft regarding a potential license for the '069 patent. A formal offer, including a copy of proposed licensing terms and a draft license agreement, was extended on September 20, 2004. The offer expired in March 2005. 11 Microsoft, HP and Netgear 4 filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on May 9, 2005, (the same day Intel and Dell filed their complaint), seeking a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, patent invalidity, patent misuse, equitable estoppel and laches. On May 31, 2005, CSIRO moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds of insufficiency of process and defective service pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(4) and 12(b)(5). On June 24, 2005, this case was related to the Intel case and reassigned to Judge Jenkins. On July 1, 2005, the parties resolved the pending motion via stipulation. 12 On August 8, 2005, CSIRO filed a motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, but it was denied on September 13, 2005, for essentially the same reasons described above. With respect to the question of foreign sovereign immunity, the district court found that CSIRO's attempts to secure patent licenses in order to generate royalty income was not an activity peculiar to a sovereign state, but [wa]s, instead, a commercial activity that a private entity would engage in. Microsoft, at . CSIRO filed a timely notice of appeal. Plaintiffs responded by filing a motion for an order certifying the appeal as waived or otherwise frivolous, which was denied on November 11, 2005. 13 We have jurisdiction over these interlocutory appeals pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(c)(1).