United States Federal Circuit

Judgment finding that certain patents in suit involving horizontal directional drilling were unenforceable for inequitable conduct is vacated where there were genuine issues of material fact as to the materiality of plaintiff's failure to disclose certain prior art.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/08/2006
• Published 02/08/2006

Judges

• CLEVENGER, Senior Circuit Judge., Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, CLEVENGER, Senior Circuit Judge, and SCHALL, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• J. Michael Jakes, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., of Washington, DC, argued for plaintiffs-appellants.   Of counsel on the brief were Jeff E. Schwartz, Schwartz Sung & Webster, of Washington, DC, and Michael J. Bettinger, Preston Gates & Ellis, L.L.P., of San Francisco, California.   Of counsel was Krista L. Lynch, Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, of Washington, DC.


• For Appellees:
  
• Robert D. Tomlinson, Tomlinson & O'Connell, P.C., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, argued for defendant-appellee.   With him on the brief were Mary E. Nelson, McKinney & Stringer, P.C., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;  Gary S. Peterson;  Sean V. O'Connell;  and Lawrence F. Grable, Tomlinson & O'Connell, P.C., of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.