Technology company 3M was ordered to pay $26 million in damages earlier this week after a federal judge found the company had fraudulently obtained patents that became the basis for a patent infringement lawsuit.
3M will pay the majority of those damages to TransWeb after US District Judge Faith Hochberg found 3M fraudulently obtained patents for equipment used in oily environments, such as a shipyard. 3M had sued TransWeb for infringing upon two of its patents in 2010, but TransWeb fought back just months later on charges those patents were obtained fraudulently and are therefore unenforceable.
In an amendment to its lawsuit, TransWeb also accused 3M of monopolizing the market through patent fraud. The basis of the charges was the 1965 Supreme Court case Walter Process v. Food Machinery that found the fraudulent obtaining of a patent violates antitrust law.
TransWeb also added the charge of a sham antitrust suit to its rival, on grounds that 3M’s initial lawsuit was an attempt to harm competition.
Full Content: New Jersey Law Journal
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Uruguayan Antitrust Scrutiny Puts Major Meatpacking Deal Between Marfrig and Minerva on Hold
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Alaska Airlines Seeks Dismissal of Consumer Lawsuit Over $1.9 Billion Hawaiian Airlines Buy
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Idaho Attorney General Orders Split of Kootenai Health and Syringa Hospital
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Court Rejects T-Mobile’s Appeal Bid in Antitrust Case Over Sprint Merger
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Google Requests Judge, Not Jury, to Decide on Antitrust Case
May 19, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI