- Right To Enforce Patent May Be Waived Intentionally Or By Implication: Explore whether the patent owner waived its right to enforce its patent rights under a “true” (intentional) or “implied” waiver theory. Waiver applies where clear and convincing evidence shows that the patent owner either “with full knowledge of the material facts, intentionally relinquished its rights to enforce the [] patents or that its conduct was so inconsistent with an intent to enforce its rights as to induce a reasonable belief that such right has been relinquished.” Qualcomm (Fed. Cir. 12/01/08) (patents unenforceable (for waiver) against certain products where patent owner “intentionally organized a plan to shield” its patents from a standards body where patent owner knew it had a duty of disclosure). See generally Morgan (U.S. 05/23/2022) (rejecting requirement of prejudice for waiver of arbitration right; “Waiver … ‘is the intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right.’ To decide whether a waiver has occurred, the court focuses on the actions of the person who held the right; the court seldom considers the effects of those actions on the opposing party.”).
- Waiver Arising From Participation In Standards-Setting Organization: “Implied waiver occurs when the patentee’s conduct was so inconsistent with an intent to enforce its rights as to induce a reasonable belief that such right has been relinquished,” such as breaching a duty to disclose to a SSO, even if no third party shown to rely on that behavior. Core Wireless (Fed. Cir. 08/16/18) (vacating ruling against implied waiver; patent may be enforceable due to implied waiver where prior owner made a rejected proposal of a standard to the SSO and failed to disclose its pending patent application on that technique); Hynix Semiconductor (Fed. Cir. 05/13/01) (aff’g rejection of implied waiver; implied waiver in the [SSO] context “can be shown where (1) the patentee had a duty of disclosure to the standard setting organization, and (2) the patentee breached that duty”).