MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC. v. LONGHORN IP LLC

Authored by: Jeremy J. Gustrowsky

A recent decision from the Federal Circuit highlights the limits of appellate review when it comes to mid-case orders, specifically those involving state laws targeting bad faith patent assertions. The case centered on Micron Technology, a major semiconductor manufacturer based in Idaho, and two entities, Longhorn IP LLC and Katana Silicon Technologies LLC, who had accused Micron of infringing several expired patents related to shrinking semiconductor devices (U.S. Patent RE38,806, U.S. Patent 6,352,879, and U.S. Patent 6,731,013).

Micron responded by countersuing under Idaho’s Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement Act, a law designed to protect Idaho businesses from abusive patent litigation. As part of the proceedings, the district court imposed an $8 million bond on Longhorn and Katana, meant to cover Micron’s potential litigation costs and damages if it prevailed. Longhorn and Katana challenged the bond and the underlying state law, arguing that federal patent law should override Idaho’s statute.

On appeal, Longhorn and Katana tried several legal arguments to get the Federal Circuit to review the district court’s order before the case was fully resolved. They claimed the bond order was effectively an injunction, that it qualified for immediate appeal under the collateral order doctrine, and that the court should use its extraordinary powers to intervene. However, the Federal Circuit found none of these arguments persuasive. The court emphasized that the bond order was not a final judgment and did not meet the strict requirements for an immediate appeal.

The court also noted that Longhorn and Katana had not shown the bond would cause them irreparable harm or that they had no other way to challenge it. In fact, Idaho law allows parties to request a waiver of the bond if they can show they have sufficient assets or other good reasons. Since the record did not show that the bond was unpayable or that waiver was impossible, the court saw no reason to make an exception to the usual rule that appeals must wait until the end of the case.

As a result, the Federal Circuit dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, leaving the $8 million bond in place and the underlying dispute over Idaho’s bad faith patent assertion law for another day. The court did not address whether the Idaho law is preempted by federal patent law or whether the district court abused its discretion in setting the bond amount.