Genband US LLC v. Metaswitch Networks Corp.

Genband sells products and services that help telecommunications companies offer voice communications services over Internet Protocol networks (VoIP services) and owns patents related to its offerings. Metaswitch sells telecommunications products and services that compete with Genband’s offerings but was not a major competitor until recent years. After a jury found that Metaswitch infringed various claims of several of Genband’s patents and that those claims had not been proven invalid, Genband sought a permanent injunction. The district court denied the request, concluding that Genband had not established irreparable harm from the infringing activities by alleging that Metaswitch made competing sales. The court indicated that Genband was required to prove that “the patented features drive demand for the product.” The Federal Circuit vacated, reasoning that the district court may have relied on too stringent an interpretation of the requirement, for an injunction, that the allegedly irreparable harm is being caused by the infringement. The court stated that it could not be confident of the answer to the causation question under the standard properly governing the inquiry or whether there is any independent ground for finding no irreparable harm or otherwise denying an injunction. View "Genband US LLC v. Metaswitch Networks Corp." on Justia Law