Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Defendant's Settlement Agreements in Cases Involving Similar Patents are not Discoverable

Plaintiff's motion to compel the production of defendant's settlement agreement in another case was denied. "Although [plaintiff] argues that the [patent] in the Texas case is 'directly relevant' to the . . . patents at issue in this case, I find that [plaintiff] has only shown that the [other] patent is one of a myriad of patents owned by [defendant] relating to prosthetic products that use a gel and substrate liner issued by Bruce G. Kania. . . . I note the strong federal policy supporting the confidentiality of settlement agreements, and the fact that information concerning [defendant's] knowledge of its liner patents and their validity is accessible by [plaintiff] via other discovery means."

ALPS South, LLC v. The Ohio Willow Wood Co., 8-08-cv-01893 (FLMD November 19, 2010, Order) (Pizzo, J.)

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