Exergen Corp. v. Brooklands, Inc. (12-cv-12243).

Judge Woodlock ruled in Exergen 2019s favor on the issue of inequitable conduct in connection with its 7,787,938 patent, which relates to measuring a person 2019s internal temperature externally via the temporal artery. Judge Woodlock had previously found the asserted claims invalid for claiming unpatentable subject matter; following this, both parties initially pressed the court to address inequitable conduct on summary judgment, although Exergen subsequently sought to have the inequitable conduct claims dismissed as moot. Judge Woodlock examined Federal Circuit caselaw on the issue of mootness of inequitable conduct counterclaims on patents that had already been deemed invalid, and determined that such claims are not moot where attorney 2019s fees are being sought based on the alleged inequitable conduct. Looking to the allegations of inequitable conduct, Judge Woodlock determined that Brooklands had failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that any of the alleged omissions or misrepresentations demonstrated an intent to deceive the PTO. He determined that any inequitable conduct relating to references that were not disclosed during prosecution of a parent application was cured by being affirmatively disclosed during the prosecution of the 2018938 patent. Also, with respect to allegations that the prosecuting attorney had misrepresented positions taken by Exergen as to the claim scope of other Exergen patents in a different litigation, Judge Woodlock found this to be mere attorney argument that did not raise to an intent to deceive because all of the litigation documents were put before the examiner, who is free to reach his own conclusions as to their import.