November 22, 2005
Firm successfully defends Cordis Corp. and Philips in IP actions.
On November 18, in Stratienko v. Cordis, the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed summary judgment of no misappropriation of a trade secret, wrongful benefit or breach of contract by Willkie client Cordis Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The 6th Circuit found that Dr. Stratienko failed to proffer sufficient evidence of substantial similarity between his trade secret and Cordis' catheter to create a genuine issue of material fact concerning use of Dr. Stratienko's trade secret. The 6th Circuit also found that the District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee properly relied on declarations of Cordis employees and that summary judgment was therefore appropriate.
The firm’s Intellectual Property group is also currently representing Cordis Corporation in Voda v. Cordis Corp.--a significant case that addresses whether U.S. courts will adjudicate foreign patent claims. The Willkie team recently filed an interlocutory appeal with the Federal Circuit to decide whether a U.S. district court under U.S. law has supplemental jurisdiction over foreign patent infringement claims in a U.S. patent infringement case, and if so, should the court exercise such jurisdiction. The appeal, which was certified by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, has been supported in favor of Cordis by four amici curiae briefs submitted by the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Intellectual Property Owners Association, and the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The appeal is fully briefed and awaiting a date for oral argument on January 12, 2006.
Separately, the firm recently successfully defended a leading manufacturer of electric shavers against claims of patent infringement. In Izumi Prods. Co. v. Koninklijke Philips Elecs. N.V., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision in favor of Willkie client Philips, granting its motion for summary judgment of noninfringement. The asserted patent related to an inner cutter blade designed to reduce shaving debris adhesion in electric rotary shavers.