Brown Patent Law logoIn early April 2016, our client, Spectrum Tracer Services L.L.C., represented by Dennis Brown and John Christopher Davis of Johnson and Jones, received a ruling in their favor from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The ruling brings to a conclusion a legal battle over claimed patent infringement that began nearly four years ago. Here are the details of Core Laboratories LP v. Spectrum Tracer Services, L.L.C.
Core initiated this case by accusing Spectrum of infringing on two of their patents. The patents in question relate to a method for determining the extent of recovery materials injected into an oil well during an oil and gas exploration and production using chemical tracers.
Dennis Brown instituted inter partes reexamination proceedings in the US Patent Office disputing Core’s claims on behalf of Spectrum. The Examiner rejected Core’s claims and that decision was affirmed by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
After Brown argued on Spectrum’s behalf at oral argument in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Court in early April, judgment was entered the next day against Core once again affirming the rejections of their claims against Spectrum.
The summary of the argument against Core’s claims comes down to their inability to prove that the accused patent infringement fell outside the knowledge and skill of any professional engineer working with fracturing procedures and tracers. The method and use of chemical tracers to track the recovery of fracturing fluid involved in this case was deemed to be achievable through the use of widely known methods and analytical techniques from previously published studies and papers.
For information on how Dennis Brown and Brown Patent Law can help defend your company, contact us at 918-615-3357.