Federal Circuit Jumps Into Tribal Immunity Controversy
The D.C.-based appellate court on Wednesday stopped a PTAB proceeding in which the board has declined to recognize the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe's sovereign immunity.
March 28, 2018 at 09:54 PM
3 minute read
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stepped into the debate over tribal sovereign immunity at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
The D.C.-based appellate court on Wednesday stopped a PTAB proceeding in which the board has declined to recognize the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe's sovereign immunity. The Federal Circuit scheduled a June hearing on the tribe's bid to dismiss the proceedings, in which generic pharmaceutical companies challenge the validity of patents on Allergan's Restasis dry eye medication.
Allergan assigned its patents to the tribe last summer in exchange for $15 million. The tribe then asserted its sovereign immunity before the PTAB, arguing that should end the inter partes review proceedings. The move generated a storm of controversy, including congressional hearings and at least two legislative proposals to block such arrangements.
➤➤ Get IP news and commentary straight to your in-box with Scott Graham's email briefing, Skilled in the Art. Learn more and sign up here.
The PTAB ruled earlier this year that tribal immunity doesn't apply to IPR proceedings, and that even if it did, Allergan is still the effective owner of the patents and can proceed without the tribe. “Based on the record before us, we find that the tribe has not retained anything more than an illusory or superficial right to sue for infringement of the challenged patents,” the PTAB order stated. It set an April 3 hearing to decide the validity of the patents.
The tribe and Allergan jointly sought an immediate appeal to the Federal Circuit. Saint Regis counsel Shore Chan DePumpo argued that the PTAB is creating “ad hoc rules and new forms of PTAB standing through board decisions to facilitate what it perceives to be its mission as the gatekeeper of what is patentable.”
Perkins Coie; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox; and Sughrue Mion represent PTAB petitioners Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Akorn Inc. They argue that Allergan and the tribe waited until just before the oral hearing last September to assert the tribe's immunity, which took nearly six months to decide. The Federal Circuit appeal is “the latest step in their elaborate and unprecedented effort” to draw out the PTAB proceedings and prolong Allergan's monopoly on Restasis, they told the court. The appeals should be decided after the PTAB issues its final written decision, they said.
The Federal Circuit issued two brief, unsigned orders Wednesday. The court said that “at this juncture, it appears” that exclusive jurisdiction to resolve the immunity lies with the Federal Circuit, and that the PTAB proceedings would be stayed at least until the June hearing.
Shore Chan partner Michael Shore welcomed the news. “We are pleased Article III judges will decide the application of tribal immunity,” he said, “as opposed to APJs who have no knowledge, background or experience with such an important issue.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All'Possible Harm'?: Winston & Strawn Will Appeal Unfavorable Ruling in NASCAR Antitrust Lawsuit
3 minute read3 GOP States Join Paid Sick Leave Movement, Passing Ballot Measures by Wide Margins
5 minute readWilmer, Miles & Stockbridge, and Polsinelli Hire Litigation, Government Contract Attorneys
2 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Obtaining Reimbursement from Medicaid
- 2NY Requiring Lawyers to Report Out-of-State Admissions, Public Discipline
- 3Man Hits Cow in Case That Tests 'Unrealistic Delivery Times'
- 4DC Judge, Applying 'Loper Bright,' Dismisses Complaint in Medicare Drug-Classification Dispute
- 5Environmental Law in Trump’s Second Term
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250