Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (2009) Cited 269,029 times 281 Legal AnalysesHolding that courts are not required "to credit a complaint's conclusory statements without reference to its factual context"
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (2007) Cited 281,939 times 369 Legal AnalysesHolding that allegations of conduct that are merely consistent with wrongdoing do not state a claim unless "placed in a context that raises a suggestion of" such wrongdoing
In re Seagate Technology
497 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2007) Cited 804 times 86 Legal AnalysesHolding that an "advice of counsel" defense to willful infringement does not waive the attorney-client privilege as to trial counsel partly because post-filing conduct is usually not relevant to a finding of willful infringement
Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co.
377 U.S. 476 (1964) Cited 416 times 13 Legal AnalysesHolding that contributory infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(c) "require a showing that the alleged contributory infringer knew that the combination for which his component was especially designed was both patented and infringing"
Vita-Mix Corp. v. Basic Holding
581 F.3d 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2009) Cited 309 times 4 Legal AnalysesHolding no contributory infringement as a matter of law because "the accused devices are indisputably capable of non-infringing use" and the patent owner could not show the use was insubstantial
Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch Lomb Inc.
909 F.2d 1464 (Fed. Cir. 1990) Cited 318 times 7 Legal AnalysesHolding § 271(c) codified common law doctrine prohibiting sale of "component" that "had no other use except with claimed product or process"
View Engineering v. Robotic Vision Systems
208 F.3d 981 (Fed. Cir. 2000) Cited 147 times 2 Legal AnalysesHolding that performing a pre-filing assessment of the basis of each infringement claim is . . . extremely important. In bringing a claim of infringement, the patent holder, if challenged, must be prepared to demonstrate to both the court and the alleged infringer exactly why it believed before filing the claim that it had a reasonable chance of proving infringement
Frank's Casing Crew v. Weatherford Intern
389 F.3d 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2004) Cited 121 timesAffirming summary judgment of noninfringement of three patent claims under § 112, ¶ 6, inter alia, because the mechanism specified in other claims using the same term as the means-plus-function claims and the accused structure “represent [ed] distinct structural approaches to performing essentially the same function”
Mallinckrodt Inc. v. E-Z-Em Inc.
670 F. Supp. 2d 349 (D. Del. 2009) Cited 82 times 3 Legal AnalysesFinding the plaintiffs' contention that knowledge can be established by the filing of a complaint unpersuasive
Xpoint Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp.
730 F. Supp. 2d 349 (D. Del. 2010) Cited 51 times 1 Legal AnalysesHolding that complaints claiming inducement of infringement must allege “the requisite knowledge and intent” on a motion to dismiss
Rule 12 - Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing
Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 Cited 363,942 times 963 Legal AnalysesGranting the court discretion to exclude matters outside the pleadings presented to the court in defense of a motion to dismiss
Rule 8 - General Rules of Pleading
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 Cited 165,126 times 197 Legal AnalysesHolding that "[e]very defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading. . . ."
Rule 11 - Signing Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Representations to the Court; Sanctions
Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 Cited 37,670 times 151 Legal AnalysesHolding an "unrepresented party" to the same standard as an attorney
Section 271 - Infringement of patent
35 U.S.C. § 271 Cited 6,210 times 1091 Legal AnalysesHolding that testing is a "use"