The U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota recently issued its opinion in Larson Mfg. Co. v. Aluminart Products Ltd., CIV 03-4344 (D.S.D. July 29, 2010). You might recall that this case was on remand from the Federal Circuit to consider inequitable conduct issues concerning the failure to cite office actions from related cases.
The court applied the three part test for inequitable conduct finding that (1) two omitted office actions were highly material; (2) clear and convincing evidence of intent to deceive the USPTO was established and unrebutted; and (3) in balancing the equities, Larson’s conduct was not so egregious as to warrant holding the patent unenforceable.
You can read the district court’s opinion here: [Read].