Patent Law Practice Center

Federal Circuit finds no problem with district court re-submitting case to jury

On January 19, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued a decision in Flexuspine, Inc. v. Globus Med. The appeal centered on the jury verdict form and how the jury specifically handled its duties in relation to that jury form.

The jury form included what is known as a “stop instruction,” which told the jury not to consider any of the invalidity defenses unless they first determined that the defendant was liable for infringement.  Globus, the defendant, did not object to the instruction prior to jury deliberations.

Upon reviewing the verdict form after deliberations ended, the district court determined that the jury had not followed the instructions and had filled out the verdict form incorrectly. The jury found no infringement, but did not stop there, and instead moved on to consider invalidity and damages. The jury form indicated that the jury found the claims invalid, and no damages should be awarded.

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