Nestle Wins Partial Victory in Bottling Patent Dispute

• “Absolute intervening rights” defense applies in patent cases even when allegedly infringing good does not exist when reexamined patent issued

• Ruling strengthens Nestle’s position in bid to get court to dismiss infringement claims

Nestle USA Inc. has gotten one step closer to prevailing in a patent dispute involving bacteria-free bottling machines (Steuben Foods, Inc. v. Nestlé USA, Inc., W.D.N.Y., No. 13-CV-00892-EAW-JJM, 10/7/16).

The decision clears the way for the court to dismiss several patent infringement claims by Steuben Foods Inc. against Nestle, which had moved for partial summary judgment on the grounds that it couldn’t be ...