Preliminary Injunction Motion Not Required For Post-Filing Willfulness Where Plaintiff Does Not Practice Patent

The court granted plaintiff's motion to amend its complaint to add a claim for post-filing willful infringement. "Several courts, interpreting that language, conclude that [In re Seagate Tech., LLC, 497 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007)] prohibits plaintiffs from alleging willful infringement based solely upon post-filing conduct unless they also seek preliminary injunctive relief to stop such conduct. . . . This Court agrees with (and will adopt) the logic of the [DataQuill Ltd. v. High Tech Computer Corp., 887 F. Supp. 2d 999 (S.D. Cal. 2011)] court. Plaintiff alleges willful infringement based upon post-filing conduct but avers that it no longer practices the patents-in-suit and does not compete with defendant. It is therefore likely that . . . plaintiff could not obtain injunctive relief from this Court because it could not demonstrate irreparable harm and requiring it to seek a preliminary injunction would be a waste of this Court’s time and resources. Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint will be allowed in its entirety."

Englishtown, Inc. v. Rosetta Stone, Inc., 1-12-cv-10636 (MAD July 25, 2013, Order) (Gorton, J.).