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Patent Law Summary

District Court Has No Jurisdiction over Foreign Patent Claims, Federal Circuit Holds in Voda v. Cordis

Voda v. Cordis
05-1238, 2007 WL 269431, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, 02/01/2007

Holding

United States courts may not exercise subject matter jurisdiction over foreign patent infringement claims, even where the district court has original federal question jurisdiction over the patent holder's related US infringement claims, because issues of comity, judicial economy, convenience and fairness compel the court to decline jurisdiction.

Detailed Summary

On appeal from the district court’s grant of leave to amend the complaint to add foreign patent infringement claims, the court held there is no statutory basis for a district court’s exercise of subject matter jurisdiction over infringement claims based on foreign patents where the district court had original federal question jurisdiction over the patent holder’s US patent infringement claims. Finding compelling reasons of comity, judicial economy, convenience and fairness to decline jurisdiction, the court held the district court abused its discretion in failing even to examine these factors pursuant to 28 USC 1367(c). The panel was concerned in particular that exercising subject matter jurisdiction over a foreign patent claim would be an inappropriate unilateral decision that the U.S. would become the adjudicating body for international patent issues which would interfere unnecessarily with the sovereign authority of other nations.

The dissenting opinion accused the majority of creating a “unique exception to the authority of American courts to resolve controversies that require the application of foreign law.” The dissent also chided the majority of the panel for basing its abuse of discretion holding on the district court’s failure to make an analysis of the factors of comity etc. under 28 USC 1367(c), when the district court had instead applied the principles of subsection (a) and accepted the claim.

Law Commentary

Read the related Law commentary: Voda v. Cordis Undermines Court’s Authority to Take Cognizance of Foreign Patent Infringement, by Thomas F. Zuber, Esq.

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