DDN Obtains Judgment in Patent Case and is Awarded Attorney's Fees

The District Court awarded DDN attorney's fees following an action brought by the firm to invalidate a patent. Judge Thompson, noting that the awarding of such fees is unusual, held that DDN had established that the defendant’s position in the action was frivolous, making the award of attorney's fees for the initiation of the action appropriate. The action in federal court arose from a state court action in which DDN had represented one of the defendants in a lawsuit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets by DDN's client, Aplicare, Inc.

Following a judgment in Aplicare's favor, the court clerk assigned to mark exhibits for the trial obtained a patent on a heat sterilization process, which was virtually identical to the heat sterilization process utilized by Aplicare and described in detail during the state court litigation. DDN filed suit against the court clerk, requesting that the District Court invalidate the patent and order that he cease and desist from attempting to collect royalties from Aplicare's customers. After a bench trial, Judge Thomspon entered judgement in favor of Aplicare and awarded Aplicare its attorney’s fees.