Defending The Ergo Baby Carrier Inc. and New Baby Tula, LLC, Erise IP shareholders Adam Seitz and Michelle Marriott, working with Beau Jackson at Husch Blackwell, secured a huge victory at the International Trade Commission.

This case involved litigation asserting the infringement of two patents and 30 claims against more than 20 respondents (including Britax, BabyBjörn and Beco Baby Carrier) seeking to stop the importation of nearly all competitive products. The case was left with only three respondents after nearly everyone settled. By the time of the trial, the case was whittled down to alleging infringement of one claim of a single patent.

After a week-long trial at the ITC, the Court found for Ergo and Tula on an overwhelming number of issues. All of Ergo’s and Tula’s products were found to not infringe. The patent was found invalid as anticipated under 102 and invalid as obvious under 103. And, in what has become a rare circumstance, the Court found the inventors committed inequitable conduct.

On the inequitable conduct, the ITC judge found the original inventors lied about the role of the co-inventor in order to bolster the strength of the patent. The named inventors then attempted to fix the error at the Patent Office to remove the co-inventor, but did not disclose any of the details about the original plan to deceive the Patent Office.

Shareholders Eric Buresh, Megan Redmond and Carrie Bader were recognized by Law.com after successfully defeating 12 patents for FanDuel.

Erise previously whittled down the case to one claim involving a single patent. On March 5, a federal judge in Delaware ruled the final patent was invalid under § 101 pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice ruling.

Erise IP shareholders Eric Buresh, Megan Redmond and Carrie Bader landed what a Delaware federal judged called “the jackpot” when they successfully won a motion on behalf of FanDuel that killed the entire case. Buresh, Redmond and Bader argued a trial wasn’t necessary on grounds the targeted patent was invalid under § 101 pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Alice ruling. The Court agreed killing the single remaining patent in the dispute.

This victory marks the end of an incredible string of wins in a case that originally involved allegations of infringement by FanDuel of 12 different patents, Law360 reported. Erise managed to kill all 12 patents without a trial, a win that is nearly unprecedented in today’s patent litigation environment. After defeating eight of the patents through a §101 challenge, Erise filed four IPRs against the remaining patents. Only one claim of a single patent escaped being invalidated in those IPRs and that final claim was the last one to fall in the most recent ruling.

Managing IP recently released rankings for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for 2019, which looked at top petitioners, patent owners and law firms based on data listed in the Docket Navigator database.

Among the findings, Erise IP ranked No. 16 for “Petitioner Law Firm,” with 26 petitions before the PTAB. The firm ranked 21^st for total PTAB disputes.

Erise, which represents two of the top four filers, is the highest ranking boutique firm on the petitioner law firm list and is the only Kansas City-based firm that is ranked in the top 50 of either “Petitioner Law Firm” or “Patent Owner Law Firm.”

Individually, shareholder Adam Seitz is ranked among the top 50 petitioner attorneys in 2019, a tremendous accomplishment for a boutique firm.

Erise IP shareholders Adam Seitz and Paul Hart picked up another win at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board when the panel invalidated nine claims of a mobile technology patent.

Law360 reported the petitioner showed, “it would have been obvious to modify existing technology to arrive at the claimed invention.”

The Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling affirming the patentability of claims of Erise IP client Spin Master’s transforming robot toy patent. Erise shareholders Jennifer Bailey and Megan Redmond represented Spin Master in the Federal Circuit.

Law360 reported on the ruling, writing the panel majority said, the “claims of Spin Master Ltd.’s patent aren’t invalid as anticipated or obvious, despite arguments” from the appellant.

Erise IP shareholder Marshall Honeyman recently presented at the Strategies in Light Conference, held February 11-13 in San Diego.

His presentation focused on obtaining patents in the LED Industry.

Attendees learned how to maintain patent rights by being diligent. Honeyman also discussed what research should be done prior to filing for a patent, and how to decide what kinds of things to patent and what things should not be patented.

Erise IP congratulates shareholder Eric Buresh for being named to the Outstanding Litigator: PTAB Shortlist by Managing IP.

Buresh is one of seven attorneys in the United States named to the shortlist with the winner being announced March 26 in New York City.

Before compiling the shortlists, IP Stars researchers evaluate the work data supplied by firms and, where applicable, reviewed publicly-available information such as court and IP office records. Researchers focused on work done or concluded in 2019, particularly looking for case studies that were of great significance to clients and/or IP law and practice. Firms or individuals can also be shortlisted based on IP Stars’ independent research findings. Each year its research analysts obtain information from thousands of firms, IP practitioners and their clients through interviews, email and online surveys.

Erise IP shareholder Adam Seitz recently spoke with the Kansas City Business Journal on the growth of the firm in its first eight years – from 10 employees to more than 40 – and potential future plans.

The KCBJ wrote the growth led to some of the firm’s current capabilities, which include being able to handle three trials that started on the same day in three different cities.

“We never could have done something like that in the past,” Seitz said. “It was a logistical exercise. We were able to put together trial teams and still have teams able to keep the rest of the firm going because you can’t take off and leave the office empty, neglecting all other work.”

With clients across the country and firm offices in Kansas City and Denver, Seitz said the firm is exploring the possibility of opening offices in Silicon Valley and/or Washington, D.C.

Erise IP shareholder Jennifer Bailey recently authored an article for Ingram’s where she discusses companies of all sizes should be concerned with Big Data.

“Once a concern left to the Googles and the Facebooks of the world, Big Data is now ubiquitous in industries as diverse as retail, hi-tech, health care, finance, agriculture, fleet management, and manufacturing,” she writes.

With the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) going into effect on Jan. 1, 2020 – and even the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect in May 2018 – businesses of all sizes that intake customer information must comply with the regulations or face harsh penalties.

To keep from falling behind, Bailey writes businesses should begin with an awareness of the primary issues, which include: data analytics and use, data ownership, data security, data privacy, data accuracy and data retention.

To read the full article, click here.