IP Law Daily, PATENT—D.S.C.: Dismissal denied in part in cell phone case dispute, (Oct 3, 2023)
Law Firms Mentioned:Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell and Berkowitz PC | Vanderbloemen Law Firm PA
Organizations Mentioned:Baker Donelson | Belair Electronics, Inc. | Twelve South, LLC
By Kevin M. Finson, J.D.
Dismissal was not warranted for failure to specifically plead infringement because the patentee identified the accused products by name and photograph and pleaded that they infringed specified claims.
A seller of cell phone cases was not entitled to dismissal of an infringement suit because the patentee had provided enough information in its complaint to satisfy the Iqbal/Twombly standard, the U.S. District Court in Charleston has held. At the pleading stage it was sufficient to identify the accused products and allege that they infringed the specified claims (Belair Electronics, Inc. v. Twelve South, LLC, September 29, 2023, Hendricks, B.).
BelAir Electronics, Inc. (BelAir) was the owner of U.S. Patents Nos. 7,941,195 (the ’195 patent”) and 10,097,676 (the ’676 Patent), both of which claimed mobile device cases. BelAir brought suit against Twelve South, LLC (Twelve), a seller of phone cases, alleging infringement. Twelve moved to dismiss.
Failure to state a claim. Twelve argued that BelAir had not plausibly alleged infringement because it only repeated the language of the asserted claims without tying them to actual infringement. Noting that this issue had previously been discussed in prior litigation over the same patents, the court held that identifying the accused products by name and photograph and alleging that they met the specified elements of the patent claims was sufficient under the Iqbal/Twombly standard. The court denied Twelve’s motion to dismiss on this issue.
Damages. Twelve also moved to dismiss claims for damages arising before the filing of suit, as BelAir had not pled marking or actual notice to Twelve of the infringement. The court agreed that there were no facts in the complaint sufficient to allege actual notice, and so granted dismissal of these claims but allowed leave to amend.
The Case is No. 2:22-cv-04443-BHH.
Attorneys: Thomas Edward Vanderbloemen (Vanderbloemen Law Firm PA) for Belair Electronics, Inc. Alexandra Blair Breazeale (Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell and Berkowitz PC) for Twelve South, LLC.
Companies: Belair Electronics, Inc.; Twelve South, LLC
Cases: Patent SouthCarolinaNews