J.H. Smith, Co. (Greenfield, MA) has sued Bit Barbecue LLC (Washington, DC) seeking a declaratory judgment that it does not infringe Patent Nos. 5,740,724 and 5,970,856 related to grill baskets. An email from the defendant’s owner asserting infringement is the sole grounds for personal jurisdiction. DJ jurisdiction is based on the email and an alleged infringement suit filed by Bit Barbecue against someone else.
The complaint feels slightly off in that (1) it does not assert that the patents are invalid and (2) it asserts that the plaintiff is under a “reasonable fear and apprehension” of suit. That language seems to have fallen out of favor since MedImmune which provided that reasonable apprehension of suit was only one of many ways a patentee can demonstrate that an action presents a justiciable controversy.
J.H. Smith, Co. v. Bit Barbecue LLC, 10-11882-MLW (D. Mass. Nov. 3, 2010)
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