Facilitating Settlement No Basis for Vacating Order Finding Patent Expired and Unenforceable

The court denied the parties' stipulated motion to vacate an earlier order partially granting defendant's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim even though the parties' settlement was contingent on vacatur. "I find that the public interest would be disserved by vacatur. . . . Here, the [prior] Order specifically held that the [patent-in-suit] was expired and unenforceable. That holding has the potential to 'create collateral estoppel in favor of nonparties whose rights are based on statutory enactments adopted for their protection,' namely, the time bar provisions embodied in 35 U.S.C. § 154(a)(2). Vacating the [prior] Order has the potential to 'prolong[] the life of' an expired patent and permit its continued enforcement against nonparties. I decline to do so."

HoloTouch, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation, 1-17-cv-08717 (NYSD July 17, 2018, Order) (Hellerstein, USDJ)