Intellectual Property Law

Elements of infringement claim not jurisdictional; "sale" occurs at location of buyer and seller

By McKee, Voorhees & Sease, P.L.C.

In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.  The court also denied the defendant's post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law.  The defendant contended that because it shipped its allegedly infringing products f.o.b. from its place of business in Canada, it did not sell or import the product in the United States, and thus there was no subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's infringement claims.  Alternatively, the defendant argued these same facts in support of its motion for judgment as a matter of law.

The Federal Circuit noted that the district court had erred in considering the issue of whether allegedly infringing products had been sold or imported in the United States as an issue implicating the court's subject matter jurisdiction.  Instead, this issue was simply an element of the claim to be proven that did not affect the court's ability to hear the case.  On the merits, the Federal Circuit rejected the contention that because legal title to the products changed in Canada that there was not a "sale" in the United States as contemplated by § 271(a), given that the customer was in the United States and the products were shipped there.  As a result, the court affirmed the finding of infringement.

More detail of Litecubes, LLC v. N. Light Prods., Inc. after the jump.

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Full post as published by FileWrapper on April 29, 2008 (boomark / email).