Infringement admitted, but not valid

FNM Corporation Ltd v Drammock International Ltd & Anor [2009] EWHC 1294 (Pat) (15 June 2009) is one of those mountain out of a molehill patent cases where (as the judge put it) the costs of the litigation threatened to get out of all proportion to the value of the claim. I suppose that is something happens when absolutists go to court, although I don't know whether I should so characterise the claimants in this case.

The defendants accepted that they had infringed, if the patent were valid - but they counterclaimed for revocation, and also for the claimants' threats. They succeeded on the invalidity point, which is something I need to add to my on-going review of patent cases - stemming from the question, whether the English courts were anti-patent. Not much sign that they are - and just because the judge didn't like this patent doesn't mean that the courts in general have a downer on them.

The defendants lost on their threats claim, though.