Fierce competition is a fact of life in the business world, but making a buck off someone else's patented invention is one idea that just won't float. When SwimTime notices that a longtime competitor's floating lounger bears striking resemblance to its own top-selling pool float, it files suit against Water-Fun for patent infringement. In its debut as NITA's very first case file on patent law, SwimTime Corp. v. Water-Fun, Inc., written by Administrative Patent Judge Ryan H. Flax, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), is a civil trial for patent infringement and defenses to these allegations, including invalidity and non-infringement. Students will dive deep into this complex litigation, starting first with the complaint stage and moving onto discovery, patent claim construction (known as the Markman hearing stage), summary judgment, and finally trial. Each side features three witnesses, including two technology experts who address infringement and validity. SwimTime familiarizes students not only with the challenges inherent to patent litigation and basic trial preparation in the modern, high-tech courtroom, but also to the importance of case presentation and the use of demonstrative evidence to persuasion in this sink-or-swim environment.
