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Follow The Local Rules -- Carefully!

Article Excerpt
In a second case in less than four weeks where a party literally lost its claim on a failure to adhere to a procedural order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a grant of summary judgment of non-infringement based on a district court's insistence on adherence to the local patent rules (in this case, the Northern District of California) and refusal to permit the patent owner to modify its infringement contentions or supplement its expert report. 02 Micro International Limited v. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc., Case No. 06-1064 (Fed Cir., Nov. 15, 2006) (Dyk, J.).

The Northern District of California has long since adopted local rules that require parties to state early in the litigation and with specificity their contentions with respect to infringement and invalidity. The ability of parties to amend those contentions is restricted. Apart from amendments designed to take account of the district court's claim construction, amendments are permitted only for "good cause."

02 Micro is the holder a patent for converting DC battery current to AC to power fluorescent lamps that provide the lighting for computer monitors. The claims required that the state of certain switches be controlled "only if" a certain signal was above a predetermined threshold. 02 Micro timely filed preliminary infringement contentions, as required by the local rules, relying on a...

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