E. Observations and Comments
IV. Conclusion and Future Study
The Global-Tech decision clarified the “knowledge” requirement under § 271(b). The Supreme Court required a plaintiff to prove the defendant’s knowledge of both the patent-in-suit and direct infringement. To resolve the dispute in Global-Tech, the Supreme Court further created a new standard of knowledge as an alternative to prove actual knowledge. It is the willful-blindness standard which is a two-step test: (1) “the defendant must subjectively believe that there is a high probability that a fact exists;” (2)
“the defendant must take deliberate actions to avoid learning of that fact.”
According to early district court cases, the willful-blindness standard was applied to forming a ground of a decision. But, a few cases applied the standard to determine knowledge. Based on the cases reviewed by this study,
before more cases come out, the application of the willful-blindness standard cannot be predictable. However, some implications could be drawn from those cases. First, there is no affirmative duty to discover the paten-in-suit. It is better for a defendant has to do something to avoid infringement. A defendant might design around the patent-in-suit or acquire a credible assurance of non-infringement.
The dispute about the “knowledge” requirement was finally settled by the Supreme Court. However, a new dispute arose in 2012 because the Federal Circuit in Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.343 clarified the requirement of “direct infringement” with respect to method claims. Whether the new definition of the “direct infringement” requirement affects the determination of “knowledge” is worth being watched or studied in the future.
Finally, the evolution of the “knowledge” requirement after Global-Tech is on-going at the district court level. The Appendix of this paper lists several updated case names and categorizes those cases into four types: (1) Rule 12(b)(6); (2) Rule 56; (3) Rule 50 & New Trial; (4) Other motions.
Appendix (1) Rule 12(b)(6)
MONEC Holding AG v. Motorola Mobility, Inc., 897 F. Supp. 2d 225 (D.
Del. 2012).
Brandywine Commc’ns Techs., LLC v. Casio Computer Co., 912 F. Supp.
2d 1338 (M.D. Fla. 2012).
Brandywine Commc’ns Techs., LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 904 F. Supp.
2d 1260 (M.D. Fla. 2012).
Pacing Techs., LLC v. Garmin Int’l, Inc., 2013 WL 444642 (S.D. Cal. Feb. 5, 2013).
Versata Software, Inc. v. Callidus Software Inc., 2013 WL 2111672 (D. Del.
May 16, 2013).
Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. v. Power Integrations, Inc., 2013 WL 1309413 (D. Del. Mar. 29, 2013).
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co. v. Heraeus Holding GmbH, 2012 WL 4511258 (D. Del. Sept. 28, 2012).
Allergan, Inc. v. Watson Labs., Inc.-Fla., 869 F. Supp. 2d 456 (D. Del. 2012).
Gharb v. Mitsubishi Elec. Automation, Inc., 2012 WL 1986435 (N.D. Ill.
June 4, 2012).
Cronos Techs., LLC v. Camping World Inc., 2013 WL 3936899 (W.D. Ky.
July 30, 2013).
343 Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc., 692 F.3d 1301 (Fed. Cir. 2012).
Nat’l Inst. for Strategic Tech. Acquisition and Commercialization v. Nissan of N. Am., 2012 WL 3600289 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 21, 2012).
Prism Techs., LLC v. McAfee, Inc., 2012 WL 5385210 (D. Neb. Nov. 1, 2012).
Silver State Intellectual Techs., Inc. v. FourSquare Labs, Inc., 2013 WL 5437363 (D. Nev. Sept. 26, 2013).
Rembrandt Social Media, LP v. Facebook, Inc., 2013 WL 2950342 (E.D. Va.
June 12, 2013).
Radware, Ltd. v. A10 Networks, Inc., 2013 WL 5373305 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 24, 2013).
U.S. Ethernet Innovations, LLC v. Netgear, Inc., 2013 WL 4112601 (N.D.
Cal. Aug. 12, 2013).
CreAgri, Inc. v. Pinnaclife Inc., 2013 WL 3958379 (N.D. Cal. Jul. 29, 2013).
Seoul Laser Dieboard Sys. Co. v. Serviform, S.r.l., 2013 WL 3761535 (S.D.
Cal. Jul. 16, 2013).
Emblaze Ltd. v. Apple Inc., 2012 WL 5940782 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 27, 2012).
Infineon Techs. AG v. Volterra Semiconductor Corp., 2012 WL 3939353 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 10, 2012).
McRee v. Goldman, 2012 WL 3745190 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 28, 2012).
Proxyconn Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 2012 WL 1835680 (C.D. Cal. May 16, 2012).
Guzik Technical Enters., Inc. v. W. Digital Corp., 2012 WL 1669355 (N.D.
Cal. May 11, 2012).
Wistron Corp. v. Phillip M. Adams & Assocs., LLC, 2011 WL 4079231 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2011).
Potter Voice Techs. LLC v. Apple, Inc., 2013 WL 1325040 (D. Colo. Mar.
29, 2013).
E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Heraeus Precious Metals N. Am.
Conshohocken LLC, 2013 WL 4047648 (D. Del. Aug. 8, 2013).
Telecomm Innovations, LLC v. Ricoh Co., 2013 WL 4017096 (D. Del. Aug.
6, 2013).
Gevo, Inc. v. Butamax(TM) Advanced Biofuels LLC, 2013 WL 3381258 (D.
Del. July 8, 2013).
T5 Labs (Del.) LLC v. Gaikai Inc., 2013 WL 1400983 (D. Del. Apr. 5, 2013).
Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Nikon Corp., 2013 WL 1298599 (D. Del. Apr.
1, 2013).
Stephenson v. Game Show Network, LLC, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2013 WL 1226915 (D. Del. Mar. 27, 2013).
NETGEAR Inc. v. Ruckus Wireless Inc., 2013 WL 1124036 (D. Del. Mar.
14, 2013).
Pragmatus AV, LLC v. TangoMe, Inc., 2013 WL 571798 (D. Del. Feb. 13, 2013).
Hand Held Prods., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., 2013 WL 507149 (D. Del. Feb.
6, 2013).
IpVenture Inc. v. Lenovo Group Ltd., 2013 WL 126276 (D. Del. Jan. 8, 2013).
Pragmatus AV, LLC v. Yahoo! Inc., 2012 WL 6044793 (D. Del. Nov. 13, 2012).
Aeritas, LLC v. Alaska Air Group, Inc., 893 F. Supp. 2d 680 (D. Del. 2012).
Chalumeau Power Sys. LLC v. Alcatel-Lucent, 2012 WL 6968938 (D. Del.
July 18, 2012).
Pragmatus Telecom, LLC v. Ford Motor Co., 2012 WL 2700495 (D. Del.
July 5, 2012).
HSM Portfolio LLC v. Fujitsu Ltd., 2012 WL 2580547 (D. Del. July 3, 2012).
IpVenture Inc. v. Lenovo Group Ltd., 2012 WL 2564893 (D. Del. June 29, 2012).
CyberFone Sys., LLC v. Cellco P’ship, 2012 WL 1509504 (D. Del. Apr. 30, 2012).
Netgear, Inc. v. Ruckus Wireless, Inc., 852 F. Supp. 2d 470 (D. Del. Mar. 28, 2012).
EON Corp. IP Holdings LLC v. FLO TV Inc., 802 F. Supp. 2d 527 (D. Del.
July 12, 2011).
ParkerVision, Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc., 2013 WL 1277894 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 28, 2013).
Ecolab Inc. v. Int’l Chemical Corp., 2011 WL 10702806 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 27, 2011).
Merial Ltd. v. Ceva Animal Health LLC, 2013 WL 4763737 (M.D. Ga. Sept.
4, 2013).
Mouldtec, Inc. v. Pagter & Partners Int’l B.V., 2012 WL 5966593 (N.D. Ill.
Nov. 28, 2012).
Intellect Wireless Inc. v. Sharp Corp., 2012 WL 787051 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 9, 2012).
Wright Mfg. Inc. v. Toro Co., 2011 WL 6211172 (D. Md. Dec. 13, 2011).
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH v. Glenmark Pharms. Inc., USA, 2012 WL 1964559 (D.N.J. May 30, 2012).
Worldwide Home Prods., Inc. v. Time, Inc., 2012 WL 6705876 (S.D.N.Y.
Dec. 21, 2012).
Pecorino v. Vutec Corp., 2012 WL 5989918 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2012).
Tranxition, Inc. v. Novell, Inc., 2013 WL 2318846 (D. Or. May 27, 2013).
AntiCancer, Inc. v. Berthold Techs., U.S.A., LLC, 924 F. Supp. 2d 916 (E.D.
Tenn. 2013).
InMotion Imagery Techs., LLC v. Imation Corp., 2013 WL 1279055 (E.D.
Tex. Mar. 26, 2013).
Achates Reference Pub., Inc. v. Symantec Corp., 2013 WL 693955 (E.D.
Tex. Jan. 10, 2013).
InMotion Imagery Techs. v. Brain Damage Films, 2012 WL 3283371 (E.D.
Tex. Aug. 10, 2012).
Lochner Techs., LLC v. AT Labs Inc., 2012 WL 2595288 (E.D. Tex. July 5, 2012).
Driessen v. Sony Music Entm’t, 904 F. Supp. 2d 1196 (D. Utah 2012).
Execware, LLC v. Staples, Inc., 2012 WL 6138340 (D. Del. Dec. 10, 2012).
Radiation Stabilization Solutions LLC v. Accuray Inc., 2012 WL 3621256 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 21, 2012).
Select Retrieval, LLC v. L. L. Bean, Inc., 2012 WL 5381503 (D. Me. Oct. 31, 2012).
Prism Techs., LLC v. Sprint Spectrum, L.P., 2012 WL 3867983 (D. Neb.
Sept. 6, 2012).
Prism Techs., LLC v. U.S. Cellular Corp., 2012 WL 3867995 (D. Neb. Sept.
6, 2012).
Prism Techs., LLC v. Cellco P’ship, 2012 WL 3867997 (D. Neb. Sept. 6, 2012).
e-Watch Inc. v. Avigilon Corp., 2013 WL 5231521 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 16, 2013).
(2) Rule 56
Bose Corp. v. SDI Techs. Imation Corp., 2012 WL 2862057 (D. Mass. July 10, 2012).
Tarkus Imaging, Inc. v. Adobe Sys., Inc., 2012 WL 2175788 (D. Del. June 14, 2012).
WesternGeco L.L.C. v. ION Geophysical Corp., 876 F. Supp. 2d 857 (S.D.
Tex. 2012).
Lutron Elecs. Co., Inc. v. Crestron Elecs., Inc., 2013 WL 4881570 (D. Utah Sept. 12, 2013).
AntiCancer, Inc. v. Fujifilm Med. Sys. U.S.A., Inc., 2013 WL 947397 (S.D.
Cal. Mar. 12, 2013).
TV Interactive Data Corp. v. Sony Corp., 2012 WL 6020113 (N.D. Cal. Dec.
3, 2012).
Gen-Probe Inc. v. Becton Dickinson and Co., 899 F. Supp. 2d 971 (S.D. Cal.
2012).
Augme Techs., Inc. v. Yahoo! Inc., 2012 WL 3627408 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 21, 2012).
Genentech, Inc. v. Trs. of Univ. of Pennsylvania, 871 F. Supp. 2d 963 (N.D.
Cal. 2012).
Alibaba.com H.K. LTD v. P.S. Prods., Inc., 2012 WL 1668896 (N.D. Cal.
May 11, 2012).
Insituform Techs., LLC v. Cosmic Tophat, LLC, 2013 WL 4038722 (N.D.
Ga. Aug. 9, 2013).
Avidyne Corp. v. L-3 Commc’ns Avionics Sys., Inc., 2012 WL 1067645 (D.
Mass. Mar. 29, 2012).
Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Eng’g, Inc., 810 F. Supp. 2d 1173 (D. Nev. 2011).
MeadWestvaco Corp. v. Rexam PLC, 809 F. Supp. 2d 463 (E.D. Va. 2011).
Generac Power Sys., Inc. v. Kohler Co., 2012 WL 6562153 (E.D. Wis. Nov.
29, 2012).
Koninklijke Philips Elecs. N.V. v. Cinram Int’l, Inc., 2012 WL 4074419 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 23, 2012).
(3) JMOL & New Trial
Minemyer v. R-Boc Representatives, Inc., 2012 WL 2155240 (N.D. Ill. June 13, 2012).
On Site Energy Co., Inc. v. MTU Onsite Energy Corp., 2013 WL 3990919 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 02, 2013).
Carnegie Mellon Univ. v. Marvell Tech. Group, Ltd., 2013 WL 5332108 (W.D. Pa. Sept. 23, 2013).
Conceptus, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc., 2012 WL 44237 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 9, 2012).
Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc., 2013 WL 4458754 (D. Nev. Aug. 16, 2013).
Ericsson Inc. v. D-Link Sys., Inc., 2013 WL 4046225 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 6, 2013).
Internet Machs. LLC v. Alienware Corp., 2013 WL 4056282 (E.D. Tex. June 19, 2013).
SSL Servs., LLC v. Citrix Sys., Inc., 2013 WL 1680075 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 17, 2013).
VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc., 925 F. Supp. 2d 816 (E.D. Tex. 2013).
Saffran v. Johnson & Johnson, 2011 WL 4378030 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 20, 2011).
(4) Other Motions
BASF Corp. v. Aristo, Inc., 2012 WL 2420999 (N.D. Ind. June 26, 2012) (motion for reconsideration).
Info-Hold, Inc. v. Muzak LLC, 2013 WL 4478950 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 20, 2013) (motion for reconsideration).
Pronova Biopharma Norge AS v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc., 867 F. Supp. 2d 502 (D. Del. 2012) (Rule 52(a) judgment).
Acorda Therapeutics Inc. v. Apotex Inc., 2011 WL 4074116 (D.N.J. Sept. 6, 2011) (Rule 52(a) judgment).
Carnegie Mellon Univ. v. Marvell Tech. Group, Ltd., 2012 WL 5451475 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 7, 2012) (motion for excluding evidence).
Toshiba Corp. v. Imation Corp., 2013 WL 1248633 (W.D. Wis. Mar. 26, 2013) (motion for excluding evidence).
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Ctr. v. Branhaven, LLC, 861 F. Supp. 2d 730 (E.D. Va. 2012) (specific jurisdiction).
Eon Corp. v. AT & T Mobility, LLC, 879 F. Supp. 2d 194 (D. Puerto Rico 2012) (specific jurisdiction).
Cited as:
Bluebook Style: Ping-Hsun Chen, The New Development of the Knowledge Requirement of Induced Infringement under the American Patent Law, 2 NTUTJ. OF INTELL.PROP.L.&MGMT. 72 (2013).
APA Style: Chen, P.-H. (2013). The new development of the knowledge requirement of induced infringement under the american patent law.
NTUT Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Management, 2(2), 72-112.