This week’s spin of the Panel wheel landed imPaneled on a new proceeding that raises subject matter new to imPaneled.  Despite having been raised among the world’s foremost patent litigators (which they would happily tell you themselves), imPaneled has neglected the many patent cases on the Panel dockets–until now.

Some people would call Brandywine Communications Technologies, movant in the eponymous MDL 2462, In re Brandywine Communications Technologies, LLC, Patent Litigation, a “patent troll.” Brandywine precipitated MDL 2462 by filing 41 cases in 22 districts against DSL providers, alleging the infringement of six patents.  Now, imPaneled would never disparage anyone with an epithet as vile as “troll” (though we might use viler ones).  But it does bear mentioning that Brandywine is decidedly not in the DSL business.

imPaneled’s competitors (in a sense) at Thomson Reuters recently harkened back to 2011, when “conventional wisdom” was that the America Invents Act of 2011 would force patent trolls to the Panel in droves, which has not necessarily happened yet.  The good news is that the long-standing and ongoing battle between patent trolls and their alleged victims over joinder and venue issues raises the possibility that MDL 2462 could be particularly venomous by Panel standards.  imPaneled will be rooting for that.

* – imPaneled composed the title of this post with assistance only from this invaluable site–really–only to discover afterwards that everyone who has written about this subject has used the same title.  Sorry, imPaneled fans–sometimes you get what you pay for.

. . . is surely Abbott Laboratories, which has, by imPaneled’s estimation, entangled itself in more complex litigation and government investigations than any other titan of corporate America over the last 20 years.  What would motivate such a scurrilous assertion, you say?  Well, imPaneled decided to end its most recent hiatus by reporting on the most recent Panel proceeding to hit the dockets, whatever that might have been.  And, lo and behold, it was filed by imPaneled’s old friend Abbott, the primary offender–make that alleged offender–in MDL 2460, In re Niaspan Antitrust Litigation, a pay-for-delay proceeding now pending in the East Coast district court nearest you.  Abbott first appeared on imPaneled’s radar long before “blog” was a word, as the primary offender in In re Infant Formula Antitrust Litig. (N.D. Fla. circa 1993).

Abbott has since kept the wheels of justice turning with multiple violations.  imPaneled’s hurried Lexis search turned up only four, but memories of having seen others are seared–seared!–in imPaneled’s mind.  But the four alone make for quite a record.  The quotes below are unattributed, but imPaneled is so trustworthy as to not require citations:

2012: “Abbott signed the $1.6-billion settlement agreement in May 2012 to resolve all outstanding issues regarding the investigation of past sales and marketing practices relating to Depakote in the US.”

2008: “Abbott Laboratories To Pay $184 Million To Settle Fenofibrate Lawsuits.”

2003: “This settlement resolves all outstanding issues arising from the previously disclosed government investigation of the Ross Products Division for which Abbott took a charge of $622 million in the second quarter and announced on June 26.”

2001: “Abbott Laboratories announced that its reserves are adequate to cover its half of the costs related to the $875 million settlement announced between the U.S. Department of Justice and TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., a joint venture of Abbott and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan.”

Rumors that Abbott has a Malfeasance Management Division are unfounded.  imPaneled thanks Abbott in advance for whatever further contributions to attorneys’ retirement funds will be forthcoming as a result of MDL 2460.