by Dennis Crouch
During patent prosecution, an inventor wrote to his attorney in the margin of a draft declaration: "I am not sure it is a good idea to disclose this document." The district court called this "a rare example of direct evidence of an intent to defraud." A magistrate judge agreed. The patent was declared unenforceable for inequitable conduct on summary judgment. Case closed. Or so it seemed.
In Global Tubing LLC v. Tenaris Coiled Tubes LLC, No. 23-1882 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 26, 2026), the Federal Circuit vacated the district court's summary judgment of inequitable conduct and also vacated summary judgment on a related Walker Process antitrust claim, finding genuine disputes of material fact on both.