Patently-O TidBits

• Patent Misuse: Plaintiffs who are fighting-off patent misuse allegations should take a look at Professor David McGowan’s recent article where he argues that under Illinois Tool Works, courts may limit tying-misuse remedies to compensate the actual victims of the misuse.

Courts should not invoke the drastic no-enforcement-at-all remedy unless they also find that an infringement plaintiff has a high degree of market power or a dangerous probability of obtaining it in the market for the tied product, and that enforcement of the patent against parties other than the infringement defendant would maintain that power or aid in acquiring it.

For defendants, you should be prepared with evidence (and perhaps pleadings) that show how the patentee’s misuse was particularly harmful to you.

• Law Jobs: The guys at the Legal Job Board LegalMojo may have missed this one:

The U.S. Judicial Conference approved a new United States Magistrate Judge position for Marshall, Texas. Full public notice for the position; PDF version of application form for the position. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, October 20, 2006.

• Qualcomm Injunction Denied: The ITC is getting into the injunction-denial business. According to news reports, Qualcomm was found to infringe one of Broadcom’s patents, but the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) recommended against any any injunction to block the importation of wireless handsets that incorporate infringing Qualcomm chips and software. [Reuters] [BusinessWeek]
• [email Qualcomm related documents here dcrouch@gmail.com].
• Long Live Patent Reform: Sarah Lai Stirland is one of the few reporters who really does a great job with IP issues.  Last month she went in-depth on patent reform lobbying efforts, the players, and potential for 2007. [Read the Article].