Kenneth Weatherwax, co-managing partner at Lowenstein & Weatherwax LLP, was quoted in an article published by Law360 on August 14, 2019 regarding what is believed to be the Nation’s first district court local rule requiring the serving of preliminary contentions by parties who raise a defense of subject-matter ineligibility against a patent. The Eastern District of Texas, a popular court for patent infringement trials, recently imposed a new rule requiring parties claiming ineligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 to come forward early in the case with “preliminary contentions” that include the factual bases for its defense. The article quoted Mr. Weatherwax’s observation that in hindsight the new rule might be considered to be overdue.
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