Judge Rejects Plaintiff’s Lawsuit In Patent Case

A federal judge has turned away a first-of-its-kind lawsuit filed by an attorney seeking to exploit a quirk in federal patent law that had been dormant for more than a century, according to Newsday.com. A Washington patent attorney sued the Solo Cup Company claiming that it was misleading consumers by marking its products with expired patent numbers. (Solo is a manufacturer of disposable cups.)

The attorney sued under a unique provision in federal law that allows anyone to file suit on behalf of the U.S. and split any monetary damages with the government. The U.S. District Judge granted summary judgment to Solo Cup, and ruled that the company did not intend to deceive the public.