Written by Brandon Baum , of baum legal and Practice Center Contributor.
Orinda Intellectual Properties filed suit on April 25, 2011 against a long list (50!) of electronics companies alleging infringement of US 5,438,560 purporting to cover recording and reproducing optical information on Blu-ray discs. Fine, lots of patents in the Blu-ray arena.
But a quick look at public PAIR shows that the USPTO found a substantial new question of patentability on March 7, 2011 and ordered a re-exam of all 3 claims of the ’560 patent.
Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn’t you get that substantial question of patentability straightened out before suing fifty companies for patent infringement? Maybe there is some strategy I am not aware of (willfulness?), but I can imagine a judge being pretty upset with the plaintiff if the patent goes down in flames at the USPTO.
Tags: ex parte reexamination, Orinda Intellectual Properties, Substantial New Question of Patentability, USPTO, willfulness
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