McDermott Client RCT Wins Sweeping Victory In Patent Case Against Microsoft
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 11, 2008) — McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that Firm client, Research Corporation Technologies (RCT), won a sweeping victory in its patent case against Microsoft Corporation, in the form of a precedential decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversing the decision of Arizona district court, Judge Manuel Real, in every regard. In short, the Federal Circuit overruled the district court’s finding that the patents were not infringed by Microsoft, reversed the district court’s finding that the patents were invalid and reversed the district court’s finding that the patents were unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. Finally, the court remanded the case to the chief judge of the Arizona district court with orders to reassign it to a new judge.
Terrence P. McMahon, lead trial counsel for RCT and head of McDermott’s global Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department stated, “We are delighted with the appellate courts ruling and look forward to a jury trial against Microsoft as soon as possible. We are particularly pleased that the inventors, Drs. Parker and Mitsa, have been totally vindicated in this important, precedent-setting decision.”
This decision affects many of Microsoft's most well known products, including Windows 2000, Windows XP, Office 2000 and Office XP, among others, that were earlier found to infringe RCT patents. The patents in question, which were developed by Drs. Kevin Parker and Theophano Mitsa at the University of Rochester, cover revolutionary inventions for use in "digital halftoning,” which is used to display and print high quality computer images. The patented technology has been commercialized and is called the "Blue Noise Mask." RCT has licensed the patents to industry leaders such as Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark International and Seiko-Epson.
In ruling in favor of RCT, the Federal Circuit found that the trial court committed clear error when it "completely ignored the materiality prong" of the inequitable conduct analysis, and that experiments, performed after the application for the patents in suit were filed, "were not material to the patented invention and did not give rise to any disclosure obligation."
Mick Rusing, co-counsel and named partner of Tucson based Rusing & Lopez, stated, "We are very pleased with the result, as it corrects the biggest miscarriage of justice I have witnessed in almost three decades as an attorney.”
Research Corporation Technologies, is a technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for promising biomedical companies and technologies. RCT focuses on technology investments with origins from universities and research institutions worldwide. For more information visit www.rctech.com.
McDermott's Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department has one of the largest concentrations of patent, trademark and copyright prosecution, licensing and litigation services worldwide. The Firm’s Intellectual Property Department is recognized for its trial, ITC and appellate experience and clients describe the Firm as "one of the most complete IP groups around…[with] the firepower to handle the most complex IP issues" (Chambers USA).
