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

Court Applies "Plausibility" Pleading Standard to Patent Invalidity Counterclaim

In a June 16, 2015 ruling, Judge Denise Cote ruled that the Twombly/Iqbal pleading standard applies to a patent invalidity counterclaim. The counterclaim plaintiff argued that the enhanced pleading standard was inconsistent with the Local Patent Rules, which provide for the early disclosure of invalidity contentions. The Court adopted Judge Engelmayer’s earlier decision on the issue that “‘[a]lthough some superfluity may result, the Local Patent Rules and the [Twombly/Iqbal] pleading standard are not inconsistent. And in the absence of any directive that claims of invalidity . . . should be measured under a different standard than almost all other claims in this Circuit are, the Court declines to do so.’”
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