Burden of Proof in Infringement Suits

2014-08-06

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BURDENOFPROOFININFRINGEMENTSUITS

VANESSAUDY*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

Thegeneralruleinpatentinfringementproceedingsisthattheownerofapatent
bearstheburdenofprovinginfringement.However,doesthisruleapplywhenathird
partyseeksadeclaratoryjudgmentofnon-infringement?

InMedtronic,Inc.v.MirowskiFamilyVentures,LLC(2014),695F3d1266(USSC),
theSupremeCourtoftheUnitedStatesruledthat,inthecontextofamotionfora
declaratoryjudgmentofnon-infringement,thepatenteestillbearstheburdenof
provinginfringement,evenifheisactingasadefendant.Inotherwords,aplaintiff
whoseeksadeclaratoryjudgementofnon-infringementdoesnotneedtoprovethat
heisnotinfringingonthepatentinquestion.
Inthepresentcase,Medtronic,Inc.soughtadeclaratoryjudgmentstatingthatthe
implantablecardiacpacemakersitproducedandsolddidnotconstitutean
infringementofMirowskiFamilyVentures,LLC’spatentsrelatingtoadevicewhich
causesheartventriclestocontractinrhythmwiththeheartbeat.

TheDistrictCourtruledinfavorofMedtronic,becauseMirowskididnotprovide
evidenceinsupportoftheexistenceofpatentinfringementbyMedtronic.However,
theFederalCircuitreversedthisdecisiononthegroundsthattheburdenofproofin
thiscaseinsteadshouldbebornebytheplaintiff.AccordingtotheFederalCircuit,
Medtronicfailedtomeetitsburdenbecauseitshouldhaveprovidedevidencethatits
productdidnotinfringetheMirowskipatents.
TheSupremeCourtoftheUnitedStatesreversedthedecisionoftheFederalCircuit.
AccordingtoJusticeBreyer,inthecontextofamotionforadeclaratoryjudgmentof
non-infringement,thepatenteebearstheburdenofproof,evenifitisactingasthe
defendant.
First,thegeneralruleinU.S.lawisthattheburdenofproofwithrespecttoquestions
ofpatentinfringementbelongstotheownerofthepatent.

©CIPS,2014.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheSummer2014(Vol.18,no.1)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.179E.

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Second,althoughtherulesapplicabletoamotionforadeclaratoryjudgmentdiffer
fromthoseapplicabletoanoriginalnoticeofmotion,therulesofsubstantivelaw
applicabletothefactsinquestionremainthesame.Theproceduralroleofboth
partiesmayseem“reversed”:thepartywhowouldnormallybethedefendantinan
infringementactionisnowactingastheplaintiffinamotionforadeclaratory
judgmentinvolvingthesamefacts.Despitethisreversal,theproceduralnatureofthe
actiondoesnotentailachangeinthesubstantiverightsoftheparties.

Third,theburdenofproofisaquestionofsubstantivelaw.Thereversalofthe
proceduralburdendoesnotmodifythesubstantivelegalrulesapplicabletopatent
infringement.Thus,thepatenteemustestablishproofofinfringementwhenheacts
asadefendantinamotionforadeclaratoryjudgment.

AccordingtoJusticeBreyer,theownerofapatentisinabetterpositiontoexplainthe
scopeofhispatentthanathirdparty.Thepatenteeisalsoinabetterpositionto
identifyandexplainhowaproductisinfringinghispatent.Inamotionfora
declaratoryjudgement,iftheplaintiffwererequiredtoprovideevidenceofnon-
infringement,hewouldhavetodosowithoutknowingthespecificallegationsof
infringement.Therefore,theplaintiffwouldneedtoguessallthepossibleallegations
whichmayberaisedbytheownerofthepatentinordertosuccessfullymakehis
case.
Moreover,theCourtconsideredthatthepublichasaparamountinterestin
understandingthescopeofapatent.Althoughapatentgrantsitsownerexclusive
rightstotheexploitationofthepatentedinvention,therearelimitstohismonopoly.In
particular,theownerofapatentshouldnotbeallowedtoextendthescopeofhis
monopolybyrequiringroyaltiesforthesaleofaproductthatisbeyondthescopeof
thepatent.Asexplainedabove,theownerofapatentisbetterabletodemonstrate
thescopeofhismonopoly.
Furthermore,assigningtheburdenofprooftotheownerofthepatentinan
infringementprocedurefavorsconsistencyofjudgmentsrelatingtothesamepatent.
Iftheassignmentoftheburdenofproofdependedonthenatureoftheproceedings,
therewouldbeariskofcontradictoryjudgmentsrelatingtothesamepatent.The
decisionsoftheDistrictCourtandtheFederalCircuitillustratethisproblem:the
DistrictCourtconsideredthatMirowskihadnotmettheburdenofproving
infringement,whereastheFederalCircuit,relyingonthesamefacts,decidedthat
Medtronicdidn’tprovetheabsenceofpatentinfringement.Inthesecases,even
thoughtheevidencesubmittedwasthesame,Medtronic’sliabilityvarieddepending
onwhoboretheburdenofproof.
Asaresult,inU.S.law,whenapartyinstitutesaproceedinginordertoobtaina
declaratoryjudgment,thatpartydoesn’thavetoprovetheabsenceofinfringement.
Theburdenofprovinginfringementisalwaysonthepatentee,whetherheisacting
asdefendantoraplaintiff.

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Presently,thisrulecreatedbytheU.S.SupremeCourthasnoequivalentinthe
QuebecorCanadianlaw.SimilarlytotheAmericanrule,thegeneralruleinQuebec
andCanadaisthatthepatenteemustproveinfringement.However,underQuebec
law,theplaintiffgenerallymustprovethemeritsoftheconclusionssoughtina
declaratoryjudgement.Notwithstanding,inpracticethedefendantinamotionfora
declaratoryjudgmentofnon-infringementwillalwaysbringevidenceofinfringement.
ThepracticalreasonsgivenbytheSupremeCourtoftheUnitedStatesare
persuasive,butarenotdeterminativeoftheQuebecorCanadianlawapplicableto
thesamefacts.TheQuebecandCanadianLawregardingtheassignmentofthe
burdenofproofinsuchcasesisthereforestillsubjecttodiscussion

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transfers;e-commerce,distributionandbusinesslaw;marketing,publicityand
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