Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Scruggs’s petition for permission to take an interlocutory appeal from a certified district court order. The underlying dispute concerned infringement of Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds, patent exhaustion, and the effect of Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. The court concluded that Scruggs could raise the issues in an appeal from the final judgment or injunction.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Federal Circuit should grant permission for an interlocutory appeal from the district court's certified order concerning the effect of Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. on patent exhaustion.
- Whether the certified interlocutory issues should instead be raised on appeal from the final judgment or injunction.
Holdings
- The Federal Circuit denied permission to appeal because granting an interlocutory appeal was not warranted under the circumstances.
Key quotations
“Ultimately, this court must exercise its own discretion in deciding whether it will grant permission to appeal interlocutory orders certified by a trial court.” (553)
“Scruggs may raise these issues on appeal from the final judgment or injunction.” (553)
“The petition for permission to appeal is denied.” (553)
Factual background
Monsanto owned patents covering genetically modified crop seeds whose traits replicated in successor generations. Monsanto licensed the seeds subject to restrictions against resale without a license and against saving and replanting seed for subsequent crops. Scruggs purchased and planted the seeds without signing a Monsanto license agreement, retained successor-generation seeds, and used them in later crops, leading Monsanto to sue for patent infringement.
Procedural history
The district court granted Monsanto a preliminary injunction, later granted summary judgment finding patent infringement and rejecting patent exhaustion, and entered a permanent injunction and final judgment while staying damages proceedings. The Federal Circuit affirmed the infringement and patent-exhaustion determinations but vacated the permanent-injunction determination for reconsideration under eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. After the Supreme Court denied certiorari, the district court denied Scruggs's motion for reconsideration based on Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., certified its order for interlocutory appeal, and Scruggs petitioned the Federal Circuit for permission to appeal. The Federal Circuit denied permission.