Case Citator › Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc.

Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc.

Is it still good law? What later courts have actually done to this case.

Overruled in part
Court
Federal Circuit
Citation
839 F.2d 1544
Decided
Confirmed treatments
1
Flagged citations read
28 of 28
Citing cases (total)
28
Treatment dates
1992
Overruled in part
A reviewed court has overruled part of this case’s holding. Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc. was overruled in part. The Federal Circuit sitting en banc rejected its four element equitable estoppel test, as listed below.
More on how this was screened

The Supreme Court later rejected the use of laches to bar patent damages for infringement within the period set by Congress. All 28 flagged citations have been read; later courts continued to apply Jamesbury's law of the case and other procedural rules.

Every treatment on this page is written from the citing opinion itself, with a verbatim quote, never copied from a commercial citator. A citation flagged by our screen but not shown here was read and found not to weaken this case.

28 later cases cite Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc.; 28 of those citations sat close to treatment language and were flagged for reading, and all of them have been read. Citations that did not sit near treatment language were not flagged and were not read one by one, so a court that weakened this case without using any of that language would not appear here.

Relying on Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc.?

This page shows what later courts did to it. Ask about your specific facts and see whether it still carries your argument, with citations you can check.

Treatments

Overruled in part

  • The Federal Circuit expressly overruled Jamesbury's four element patent equitable estoppel test, separating estoppel from laches and removing delay as a required element.

    A.C. Aukerman Co. v. R.L. Chaides Construction Co. · Federal Circuit (en banc) · filed

    The test set out in Jamesbury confusingly intertwines the elements of laches and equitable estoppel and is expressly overruled. Delay in filing suit may be evidence which influences the assessment of whether the patentee’s conduct is misleading but it is not a requirement of equitable estoppel.
    Read the full opinion on CourtListener →

Does this case still carry your argument?

Describe your facts. Ezel reads Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Industrial Products, Inc. and the cases that treated it, then tells you whether it still holds for your situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace