Judge Albright’s Court will be hosting yet another patent trial this coming week. Here’s how observers can dial in to the audio feed in Freshub v. Amazon, which is scheduled to open this morning, June 14:
- +1 669 254 5252 or +1 646 828 7666 or +1 551 285 1373 or +1 669 216 1590
- Webinar ID: 160 731 3863
- Passcode: 300137
- Mobile-friendly:
- +16692545252,,1607313863#,,,,*300137#
The trial appears to be about average (or median) length for Judge Albright, with the parties allotted 13 hours per side, plus 30 minutes for each of opening and summation. A few points of minor novelty relative to previous Waco patent trials:
- There’s a patent eligibility entry on the parties’ proposed verdict forms (dueling versions, naturally). Section 101 has not, as far as we can recall, been presented as a jury issue in any prior case tried in front of Judge Albright.
- The parties’ updated pretrial order indicates there will be a separate bench trial, with only three witnesses in total identified between the parties. This presumably relates to Amazon’s defense of inequitable conduct based on patent abandonment and subsequent revival.
- In an acknowledgment that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is thankfully abating, the Court’s Notice of Trial Procedures loosens some of the COVID-specific procedures that had been in place for prior trials.
- The most notable change is that there’s no more facemask requirement (“Face covering is optional for all individuals in the courtroom during trial.”). The Court has also increased the number of “party-affiliated trial participants” permitted in the courtroom from 8 to 12.
- With that said, many of the COVID-specific precautions that have been in place dating back to MV3 v. Roku still remain in place, such as the witness testifying from behind plexiglass, temperature scans, and a daily cleaning protocol. Plus, of course, the Court is still offering remote Zoom feeds (video for trial participants, audio for the general public)—though our understanding is that this may no longer be pandemic-specific, and will remain a general go-forward feature of practicing in front of Judge Albright.
Freshub is represented by Kramer Levin, along with local counsel John Palmer of Naman Howell. Amazon has been represented for the duration of the case by Fenwick & West plus local counsel Barry Shelton of Shelton Coburn; Tyler, TX attorney Deron Dacus appeared this past January, apparently intended to be additional firepower as trial drew near.
We’re looking forward to seeing what the week will bring…