Federal Circuit Affirms Dissolution of Preliminary Injunction in Split Decision Over Foldable Fan Design Patent

The Federal Circuit issued a decision today affirming a district court’s dissolution of a preliminary injunction (PI) and denial of a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a Schedule A design patent dispute over foldable fans. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision today affirming a district court’s dissolution of a preliminary injunction (PI) and denial of a temporary restraining order (TRO) in a Schedule A design patent dispute over foldable fans. Circuit Judge Hughes wrote for the majority, joined by Circuit Judge Prost, while Circuit Judge Stoll dissented from the portion of the opinion addressing the merits of the design patent analysis. “The Federal Circuit noted that ‘there is no basis for using res judicata or collateral estoppel to prevent a judge from reconsidering an earlier ruling.”