Experience
Intellectual Ventures II LLC
Toyota Motor Corp.
Intellectual Ventures II LLC (“IV”) filed a complaint at the International Trade Commission (ITC) against several automakers, including Finnegan clients Toyota Motor Corp. and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (collectively, “Toyota”). A parallel action filed in the District of Delaware was stayed pending final resolution of the ITC investigation. In the ITC action, IV accused Toyota of violating Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing into the United States vehicles containing electric motors that allegedly infringed five asserted patents. IV sought an exclusion order that would prevent the importation of dozens of models of Toyota’s vehicles into the United States, which would cause severe harm to Toyota and to the public interest. Finnegan—in coordination with other respondents to the Investigation—quickly filed offensive attacks at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), filing a total of nine inter partes reviews ("IPRs") challenging the asserted patents. At the ITC, Finnegan—in coordination with the other respondents—filed a motion to dismiss for lack of standing based on a defect in the chain of title of the patents. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) granted the motion, and IV was forced to withdraw its complaint. Six months after filing its first ill-fated complaint, IV filed a nearly identical complaint, having cured the defect in the chain of title of the asserted patents. This second complaint was instituted as Investigation No. 337-TA 1073. Finnegan led the joint defense group in various discovery and strategic efforts, argued a portion of the Markman hearing, and played a major role at trial, including opening argument and examining several key witnesses. By the time of trial, IV’s case had been reduced to just two patents and a handful of accused products. The ALJ issued an initial determination finding no violation of Section 337. IV requested Commission review, and the Commission affirmed the ALJ’s decision and terminated the investigation, finding no violation by Toyota or its suppliers. Meanwhile, the PTAB issued final written decisions holding all asserted claims of the asserted patents unpatentable. IV sought reconsideration of those decisions, which the PTAB denied.
Certain Thermoplastic-Encapsulated Electric Motors, Components Thereof, and Products and Vehicles Containing Same, 337-TA-1052; 337-TA-1073, ITC, Judges Lord, Pender, Bullock
Toyota Motor Corp. v. Intellectual Ventures II LLC, IPR2017-01494, -01495, -01537, -01538, -01539, PTAB, Judges Droesch, Weiker, Hudalla
Major victories across IP venues for Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, and Lamborghini
Audi AG; Audi of America, LLC; Automobili Lamborghini America, LLC; Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.; Bentley Motors Limited; Bentley Motors, Inc; Volkswagen AG; Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Finnegan prevails in two hoverboard battles at the ITC for Hangzhou Chic
Hangzhou Chic Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
Broadcom and Altima Communications–successfully defending four separate patents in a complex case
Altima
First International Computer, FIC America, Everex
Finnegan secures favorable ITC ruling related to innovative electric SUVs for BMW
BMW of North America, LLC and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Defending ADT, Actron AG, and Tokai Denshi against attempt to block importation of resonate tags
ADT, Actron AG, Tokai Denshi
Certain Pesticides and Products Containing Clothianidin
Syngenta International AG
Due to international data regulations, we’ve updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our privacy policy in full.
We use cookies on this website to provide you with the best user experience. By accepting cookies, you agree to our use of cookies. Please note that if you opt not to accept or if you disable cookies, the “Your Finnegan” feature on this website will be disabled as well. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
Finnegan is thrilled to announce the launch of our new blog, Ad Law Buzz, devoted solely to breaking news, developments, trends, and analysis in advertising law.