Alleging “Selective Disclosure” of Prior Art Reference is Sufficient to Plead Intent to Deceive Element of Inequitable Conduct Claim

The court denied plaintiff's motion to dismiss defendants' inequitable conduct counterclaims for failure to plead with particularity. "[A]lthough the Court agrees that the specific theory underlying the intent to deceive element could have been more fleshed out in Defendants’ pleading, the Court finds that Defendants have alleged sufficient facts from which a reasonable juror could infer that [the inventor] acted with the requisite state of mind. . . . Defendants’ brief in opposition to Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss elaborates on the theory underlying the intent to deceive element by stating that [the inventor's] selective disclosure of structures discussed in his own article, while withholding the entirety of the article itself (which included a discussion of the Tanaka Patent) could lead a reasonable juror to infer that [he] acted with the requisite state of mind. Having carefully considered this argument, in conjunction with the factual allegations set forth in Defendants’ pleading, this Court agrees."

Industrial Technology Research Institute v. LG Corporation, et. al., 2-12-cv-00929 (NJD September 25, 2012, Order) (Linares, J.).