Schwarz Pharma defends against patent infringement suit, prosecutes antitrust counterclaims involving GlycoLax®

Client(s) Schwarz Pharma, Inc.

Jones Day represented Schwarz Pharma, Inc. in a patent infringement action and in prosecuting antitrust and state law counterclaims premised on Braintree's maintenance of sham infringement litigation. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed its infringement claim with prejudice approximately eight months after serving Schwarz Pharma with a complaint alleging that Schwarz Pharma's GlycoLax™, a laxative, infringed Braintree's '183 patent. After a bench trial, the court "agree[d] that the chronology of events supports the inference that Braintree's infringement suit was motivated by business considerations, rather than legal ones," but ultimately concluded that Schwarz Pharma had failed to meet its exacting burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that Braintree's infringement suit was "objectively baseless." The case has been appealed to the Federal Circuit.

Braintree Laboratories v. Schwarz Pharma, Civil Action No. 03-477-SLR (D. Del.)