BRENT TOWNSHEND, Plaintiff, v. ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL CORP. and CONEXANT SYSTEMS, Inc., Defendants. CONEXANT SYSTEMS, Inc., Defendant and Counterclaimant v. BRENT TOWNSHEND and 3COM Corporation, Counterdefendants

 55 U.S.P.Q.2d 1011 (N.D.Cal. 2000) The CASE

In patent infringement suit, defendant argues that plaintiff patent holder and company to whom he licensed technology unlawfully caused a trade association to adopt an industry standard which embodied the technology without disclosing trade secret litigation and prospective patent litigation. 

The court dismisses Section 1 claim for failure to plead sufficient injury to competition because conduct is a lawful incident of the patent monopoly and because patent holder offered licenses on reasonable terms. 

Regarding Section 2 claim, finds that patent holder’s conduct before Trade Association was not anticompetitive