A blog about patent, copyright and trademark law in the U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of New York

Court Finds Use Might Be Authorized By Agreement, Denies Summary Judgement of Patent Infringement

In a December 9, 2013 ruling, Judge Richard J. Sullivan denied plaintiff Roche Diagnostics GMBH's motion for summary judgment to dismiss, among other claims, defendant Enzo Biochem, Inc.'s patent infringement counterclaims.  Enzo alleged that Roche breached a distribution agreement authorizing "Roche to use Enzo's patented property."  The Court wrote that to "the extent that Roche can show that its use of the Products was permitted under the terms of the Distribution Agreement, Roche may well be insulated from liability for patent infringement."  Since Judge Sullivan found that he could not "conclude as a matter of law that Roche's activities fell within the Agreement's use authorization" and denied Roche's motion for summary judgment for breach of the distribution agreement finding that, the Court ruled that "Enzo's patent infringement claims remain viable."
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