Judge Pamela Chen
Granted the '765 Patent in 1993 Pecorino and Medaglia licensed it to Visionart in 2005. As early as July 1, 2005, they learned of potential infringement by Vutec Corp. Their May 2007 infringement suit was voluntarily dismissed on Nov. 14, 2007, to pursue patent reexamination in light of Vutec's "prior art" defense. On Jan. 12, 2010, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) confirmed the patentability of the '765 Patent. In plaintiffs' instant Dec. 27, 2011, infringement suit the court denied Vutec and its codefendants summary judgment based on the equitable defense of laches because plaintiffs delayed in bringing suit for more than six years after learning of the potential infringement. Even if a presumption of laches applied, plaintiffs' purported delay in bringing suit was not unreasonable nor inexcusable. Their involvement in litigation with defendants from May 2007 to November 2007 excused that period of their purported delay in bringing suit. The PTO's reexamination of the '765 Patent also constituted "other litigation" excusing plaintiffs' delay in bring suit. Thus, plaintiffs' pursuit of other litigation, and their negotiations with defendants between July 2005 and December 2010, provided defendants with timely and ample notice of claim.
