Judge Andrews Denies Request to Produce Settlement Agreement

December 19, 2017

Publication| Intellectual Property

In B. Braun Melsungen AG v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., C.A. No. 16-411-RGA (D. Del. Oct. 24, 2017), Judge Andrews denied the plaintiffs’ request to compel the defendants to produce a settlement agreement from an earlier litigation. Although the defendants argued that the settlement agreement was not responsive to any discovery requests, the plaintiffs claimed that the settlement agreement fell within the scope of discovery requests for documents “relating to Defendants’ licensing polices” and “relating to any license” concerning comparable technology. After reviewing the settlement agreement in camera, Judge Andrews found that the defendants did not need to produce the document, explaining that it was primarily related to resolving damages and preventing future litigation, and not a license or permission to practice certain patents.

Key Point: In denying the request to compel the production of the settlement agreement, Judge Andrews found the document in question to be retrospective, not prospective, in concluding that it could not be characterized as a license.

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