Sheridan Ross regularly helps defend clients against allegations of patent infringement including a recent case representing a global auto parts manufacturer against claims of patent infringement relating to overrunning alternator decoupler pulleys.

When our client received news of a potential suit, their first call was to the patent prosecutors and litigators at Sheridna Ross. Our team was able to quickly evaluate that the alleged infringement claims were related to a patent set to expire within a year and implicated products that had not yet reached the market. The opposing party then attempted to force our client into a licensing agreement for an additional patent that was unrelated to any of our client’s products. During negotiations, our team attempted to solidify a license related to the initial products, but the other party would not agree to license the alleged infringed patent unless our client also agreed to the licensing agreement for the second patent — essentially forcing a monopoly on our client when our client did not violate any patents.

Sheridan Ross’ team took a very aggressive stance and filed a declaratory judgment action countersuing the opposing party and forcing it into a lawsuit in Miami. As part of the judgment, our team disclosed the original settlement negotiation, thereby forcing the opposing party’s hand, which ultimately initiated a settlement on terms favorable to our client.