Federal Circuit Vacates and Remands in CSIRO v. Buffalo – Oblon Spivak Obtains Remand for Client Buffalo

Alexandria, Va. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has vacated and remanded on the issue of obviousness in the high profile patent infringement case CSIRO v. Buffalo in the court’s Sept. 19, 2008 opinion. The patent at issue is U.S. Patent No. 5,487,069 and concerns Wi-Fi technology relating to the transmission of wireless signals.

Oblon Spivak, on behalf of client Buffalo Inc. and its subsidiary Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc., appealed decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, granting summary judgment and entering a permanent injunction in favor of Australian science agency CSIRO. The district court’s decisions marked the first time that a court had entered a permanent injunction in favor of a non-practicing entity since the Supreme Court’s landmark eBay decision. Oblon Spivak, stepping in as appellate counsel, obtained a remand for Buffalo.

“We are very pleased that Buffalo will now have an opportunity to defend its case at trial,” said Richard D. Kelly, appellate counsel for Buffalo and senior partner with Oblon Spivak. “Because of the remand on obviousness, the court never had to reach the issue of the permanent injunction.” Mr. Kelly argued the appeal for Buffalo and wrote the brief with Frank J. West and Takahiro Miura.

Assisting clients for 40 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C., in Alexandria, Va., is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts.

CONTACT Richard Kelly 703-412-6241 rkelly@oblon.com