Overview
(September 18, 2025) – Steptoe achieved multiple wins for a Tier 1 automotive supplier in separate patent infringement disputes.
The court awarded our client's motions for supplemental damages, pre-judgment interest, and post-judgment interest in a patent infringement dispute against its competitor concerning propshaft technology used in GM trucks. The court's award boosts our client's $4 million jury verdict by nearly $1.2 million.
This win comes on the heels of achieving a complete victory last week in two related Inter Partes Reviews (IPR). Our client’s competitor filed a patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Michigan, asserting multiple patents concerning propshaft technology used in Ram Heavy Duty Vehicles. Steptoe responded by filing petitions for Inter Partes Review (IPR) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Each of Steptoe's petitions, which navigated challenges with establishing the public accessibility of a prior art CD discussed on various online, automotive forums, was granted by the PTAB. Steptoe’s success is an outcome that remains far from guaranteed in today's PTAB landscape. Policy shifts under Acting Director Coke Stewart, namely new procedures for discretionary denials of IPRs, have significantly reduced the number of IPRs instituted by the PTAB, underscoring the significance of Steptoe's wins. Following the PTAB’s institution of the IPRs, the competitor dismissed its district court case with prejudice.
This result reflects Steptoe's deep experience in PTAB proceedings and complex patent litigation, particularly in the automotive sector. The firm regularly represents clients in high-stakes intellectual property disputes involving cutting-edge technologies.
The Steptoe team representing the automotive supplier includes partners Jay Nuttall and Robert Kappers, and associate Jacob Michalakes.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
