While Alice arguably wreaked havoc for the past decade on patent plaintiffs, its reach into patents asserted by brand pharma companies was much more limited. A patent appeal between Sonos and Google currently pending before the Federal Circuit is likely to test the bounds of the doctrine of prosecution laches. Sonos claims it was robbed of a $32 million jury verdict after the district court found Sonos waited too long to pursue the claims asserted at trial. Amicus briefs have poured in highlighting a veritable policy debate over prosecution laches. Could the doctrine of prosecution laches eventually stifle patent evergreening for pharma patents in a way that Alice never could?
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