Faegre & Benson Wins Federal Circuit Ruling for NETGEAR

On September 20, 2010, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's summary judgment of non-infringement for NETGEAR against Fujitsu, LG Electronics and U.S. Philips.

In December 2007, the three corporations filed a joint patent infringement action in the Western District of Wisconsin against NETGEAR, a San Jose–based distributor of wireless internet products. The plaintiffs each alleged that hundreds of NETGEAR's Wi-Fi products infringed multiple claims of their respective patents. 

The lawsuit arose as a test case after NETGEAR refused to take a license to a patent pool put together by the plaintiffs and several other corporations.

In September 2009, Judge Barbara B. Crabb granted NETGEAR summary judgment of non-infringement on all the asserted claims. The Federal Circuit affirmed Judge Crabb's ruling with respect to non-infringement of the Fujitsu and LG patents. The court also affirmed her ruling with respect to over 100 products alleged to infringe the Philips patent, but remanded for trial on indirect infringement for four products between 2005 and 2007, when the Philips patent expired.

NETGEAR was represented by Ken Liebman (who argued the appeal), Chad Drown and Kevin Wagner in the Faegre & Benson Minneapolis office and Nina Wang in the firm's Denver office.