Reversal of Claim Construction on Appeal Abrogates Finding of Validity Even Where Validity Was Not Appealed

The court granted defendants' motion for relief from a prior judgment of no invalidity following remand even though defendants did not directly appeal the validity finding. "The validity of the claims was determined under a claim construction that has been reversed by the Federal Circuit, and this court therefore never considered — and defendants never had an opportunity to argue — invalidity under the claim construction that the Federal Circuit adopted. . . . Because the validity and infringement issues cannot be said to be distinct, it was not necessary for defendants to appeal the validity issue in order for the court to hear the issue on remand."

Lazare Kaplan International Inc. v. Photoscribe Technologies, Inc., 1-06-cv-04005 (NYSD February 15, 2012, Order) (Griesa, J.)