Tag Archives: Defenses

Laches remains applicable in the patent context to bar pre-suit damages after an en banc Federal Circuit ruling late last week in SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products. Last year in the “Raging Bull” decision (Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), the Supreme Court held that laches could not bar copyright infringement damages within the three year statute of limitations period, because Congress had expressly legislated on the timeliness of copyright claims when it created a statute of limitations. Under Federal Circuit precedent in A.C. Aukerman v. R.L. Chaides Construction, laches bars pre-suit damages in a patent case where there   Read More »