Setback For Lemelson As Appeals Court Reinstates “Prosecution Laches” Defense - January 24, 2002
Today, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling that could represent a significant setback for the Lemelson Foundation in its ongoing patent enforcement efforts. In the declaratory judgment action brought against the foundation by Symbol Technologies and Cognex, among others, the appeals court ruled that the manufacturers may proceed with their defense of “prosecution laches,” which had earlier been dismissed by the trial court in Reno. The basic theory of the defense is that Lemelson’s patents should be held unenforceable because of the unusually long and unexplained delay between the filing of the original application and the issuance of the corresponding patents. The prosecution laches defense nearly succeeded against Lemelson in an earlier action against Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, where a magistrate held the patents unenforceable but was later reversed by the trial court judge. That case settled without a trial, leaving the question of prosecution laches open. If the defense is successful in the Reno case, it could cripple the Lemelson Foundation’s patent enforcement efforts. Click here to read the opinion.

Rumor: Federal Circuit Laches Argument on October 5? - August 24, 2001
Though not yet confirmed, rumor has it that the Federal Circuit will hear argument on the prosecution laches question in the Cognex case on October 5.

Follow-Up: Reno Court Finds Triable Issues of Fact re Pre-Positioning - July 16, 2001
We have obtained a copy of Judge Pro's decision regarding pre-positioning. It's available here for downloading. The Court found that the pre-positioning issue presented triable issues of fact and denied both parties' summary judgment motions.