Latham Pools can’t recoup fees for defense of US design patent infringement claims
( May 12, 2025, 18:18 GMT | Official Statement) -- MLex Summary: A Tennessee federal magistrate judge’s recommendation that a request by Latham Pools for $870,007 in attorney’s fees be denied was adopted in full by US Judge Katherine A. Crytzer of the US Eastern District of Tennessee. In the lawsuit, Latham — the biggest pool manufacturer in the US — won a summary judgment that its accused “Corinthian 16” and “Astoria” pools don't infringe a design patent owned by plaintiff North Star Technology, with Crytzer deeming the designs "plainly dissimilar." Although North Star failed to present evidence of consumer confusion or expert testimony, the judge said that isn't enough to render Latham entitled to fees where neither are a requirement under the “ordinary observer” test employed in design patent infringement cases. According to Crytzer, the totality of the circumstances supports a finding that Latham “failed to demonstrate that Plaintiffs’ litigation position was so weak as to be baseless.” The Federal Circuit US Court of Appeals affirmed Crytzer's summary judgment on April 24.See attached document....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline