Voluntary Amendment of Claims During Reexam Waives Right to Appeal or Seek Vacatur of Invalidity Judgment

The court denied plaintiff's motion to vacate an earlier judgment of invalidity even though the claims that the court ruled on had been amended through reexamination following summary judgment. "By voluntarily amending claims 1 and 2 during reexamination, [plaintiff] gave up its right to appeal this Court’s judgment. . . . Defendants’ reexamination request did not compel [plaintiff] to make the strategic decision . . . to amend claims 1 and 2 'to avoid lengthy appeal proceedings.'. . . [Plaintiff], by its own acts, circumvented appellate review of the Court’s judgment. Thus, vacatur is not appropriate."

PartsRiver, Inc. v. Shopzilla, Inc., et. al., 4-09-cv-00811 (CAND April 21, 2011, Order) (Wilken, J.)