PTAB Final Written Decision Invalidating Patents-in-Suit Does Not Justify Rule 60 Relief from Judgment of Infringement

The magistrate judge recommended denying defendant's motion for relief from judgment under Rule 60 and rejected defendant's argument that enforcing judgment after an appeal and remand would be unjust because the PTAB recently issued final written decisions invalidating all but one of the asserted claims of three of the four patents-in-suit. "The PTAB's Final Written Decisions are currently no more than non-final agency determinations, subject to appeal. . . . 'To hold that later proceedings before the PTAB can render nugatory that entire process, and the time and effort of all of the judges and jurors who have evaluated the evidence and arguments would do a great disservice to the Seventh Amendment and the entire procedure put in place under Article III of the Constitution.'"

WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corporation, 4-09-cv-01827 (TXSD May 4, 2016, Order) (Palermo, M.J.)