Patent Law Practice Center

The ITC End-Around District Court Stays Pending Patent Reexamination

The following post comes from Scott A. McKeown, partner at Oblon Spivak, Practice Center Contributor and writer for Patents Post Grant.

The greatest season of the year, is neither winter, spring, summer or fall, it is football season. Despite the fact that my Eagles are looking hapless these days, and my fantasy football teams are already in the toilet (thanks a lot Larry Fitzgerald), still the NFL season is always exciting. Teams once left for dead rise again, Hail Mary’s are answered (unless Jason Avant is involved, curse his name) and last second strategies rule the day.

What does all of this have to do with patent law?….nothing really, patent law is nowhere near as exciting. Yet, every once in awhile a new strategy appears that changes the game. Much like the NFL, patent practice is a “copycat league,” so, very likely coming to a patent litigation near you….the “ITC end-around.”

For those not familiar with the football end-around, this play, as diagrammed above is an exercise in misdirection. With a very aggressive defense going one way, an offensive team fakes into the direction of the defense, only to toss the ball to a player running around the defense in the opposite direction. A form of this tactic was recently executed by Motiva in their dispute with Nintendo. (more…)