Inequitable conduct rulings in patent cases are rare. But when they do happen, they can be very costly for the losing party. For evidence, look no further than a ruling issued Monday that puts 3M Company on the hook for millions of dollars that rival TransWeb LLC spent on attorneys at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—plus millions more for good measure.
In a ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge Faith Hochberg in Newark ruled that two patents 3M asserted against TransWeb were obtained through inequitable conduct—i.e., a fraud on the patent office. A jury reached the same conclusion in 2012, but the verdict was only advisory because inequitable conduct is an issue for judges to decide.
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