Too Little, Too Late for Settlement

In salesforce.com, Inc. v. VirtualAgility Inc., CBM2013-00024 (November 24, 2014), the Board denied patent owner’s request for authorization to file a Motion to Vacate the Final Written Decision and to Terminate the Proceeding after the Final Written decision has been Vacated.  The Board noted that under 35 U.S.C. § 327(a), it may continue to completion of trial to render judgment even if the parties have settled and the proceeding is terminated with respect to each petitioner, and reasoned that if it can proceed to issuance of a Final Written Decision despite settlement, then an already issued Final Written Decision should not be vacated based on settlement between the parties.

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About Bryan Wheelock

Education J.D., Washington University in St. Louis B.S.E. in Mechanical Engineering, Duke University Bryan Wheelock's practice includes preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications and drafting of intellectual property agreements, including non-compete agreements. He has brought and defended lawsuits in federal and state courts relating to intellectual property and has participated in seizures of counterfeit and infringing goods. Bryan prepares and prosecutes U.S. and foreign patent applications for medical devices, mechanical and electromechanical devices, manufacturing machinery and processes, metal alloys and other materials. He also does a substantial amount of patentability searching, trademark availability searching and patent and trademark infringement studies. In addition to his practice at Harness Dickey, Bryan is an Adjunct Professor at Washington University School of Law and Washington University School of Engineering.