We previously reported on Judge Robinson’s denial of Gevo’s motion to dismiss Butamax’s declaratory judgment action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on her determination that a sufficient controversy existed to exercise declaratory judgment jurisdiction. Judge Robinson has now considered Gevo’s renewed motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and this time has granted dismissal. Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, et al. v. Gevo, Inc., C.A. No. 12-1301-SLR, Memo. at 1-6 (D. Del. Jan. 28, 2014).
Although Butamax and Gevo have engaged in “an extensive pattern of litigation . . . [with] eleven cases pending between the parties,” that litigation has become less related to the patent at issue in this declaratory judgment action. This declaratory judgment case and another related infringement case involve Gevo’s patents for isobutanol recovery. The remainder of the patents at issue between the parties in the various cases relate to creating isobutanol through genetically engineered organisms. Because Gevo’s infringement case involving the related, isobutanol recovery patent was voluntarily dismissed in May, and because there was no evidence of Butamax’s final commercialization process for isobutanol recovery, Judge Robinson found that the pattern of litigation of unrelated patents alone was no longer sufficient to sustain an actual controversy. Id. at 4-5.
Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC, et al. v. Gevo, Inc., C.A. No. 12-1301-SLR (D. Del. Jan. 28, 2014).
Delaware IP Law Blog 