Federal Circuit Reverses Prosecution Laches in Google v. Sonos

Joseph Kim, director in Sterne Kessler’s Trial & Appellate Practice Group, spoke to IAM on the recent reversal in the Google v. Sonos case. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s findings that some patents are unenforceable due to prosecution laches.

Kim suggests that the main takeaway from the case is to introduce evidence of real prejudice. “We advise all litigants to be vigilant throughout a case about building the record of evidence they need,” he stated.

“In this case, Google at no point presented the evidence sufficient to establish prosecution laches – not during summary judgment or post-trial motions. Parties must build a record and do more than just present attorney arguments with no evidentiary proof, testimonial or otherwise.”