Friday, August 24, 2012

History of Aggressive Patent Enforcement Supports Declaratory Judgment Claim

The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss plaintiff's declaratory relief action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because of defendant's statements on its website and history of aggressively enforcing the patent-in-suit. "[Defendant's] patent enforcement record before [plaintiff's] declaratory filing date contributed to the creation of a justiciable controversy. Its record after the filing date confirms its continued existence. . . . Both before and after [defendant] warned [plaintiff] and its customers on its website, [plaintiff] watched [defendant embark on a sue-settle-warn-repeat cycle."

General Electric Company v. NeuroGrafix, et. al., 2-12-cv-04586 (CACD August 16, 2012, Order) (Pfaelzer, J.).

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