Suit Claims Foley & Lardner Disclosed Confidential Patent Information
A patent holding company has sued Foley & Lardner, claiming that the law firm disclosed confidential patent information learned during settlement talks.
The suit claims Foley & Lardner used the information to file a lawsuit on behalf of its client, Japanese electronics manufacturer Kyocera, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times and the Am Law Litigation Daily. The Kyocera suit sought a declaratory judgment that it did not infringe the patents of the holding company, SPH America.
SPH America had earlier sued Kyocera for infringement of a different patent used in cell phone technology. The new suit says SPH disclosed in confidence during settlement negotiations that it also held patent rights for 3G wireless technology, but it did not plan to sue Kyocera over those patents. Kyocera’s discovery judgment action concerned the 3G technology, but was not filed under seal, according to the BLT summary of the SPH suit.
The SPH suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. SPH America was formed in 2008 by a former associate at Fish & Richardson.
