Amity Rubberized Pen Co. v. Market Quest Group Inc.

This is a patent case. Congress has directed that appeals of patent cases shall be heard by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and that other circuit courts, including this court, do not have jurisdiction to decide such cases. See 28 U.S.C. § 1295 (a)(1). Thus, this appeal should have been filed with the Federal Circuit. Because, however, it was filed with us, we must decide what to do with it. We hold that the interest of justice would be served by allowing this case to be heard by the Federal Circuit, and so order that it be transferred to that court.

I.

This appeal is the latest chapter in an ongoing patent dispute. For our purposes, the relevant facts are brief. Plaintiff Amity Rubberized Pen Company (“Amity”) holds U.S. Patent No. 7,004,350 (the “'350 Patent”) for a device that dispenses both toothpicks and tablets, such as mints. On September 26, 2006, Amity sued Defendant Market Quest Group, Inc., (“Market Quest”) alleging infringement of the '350 Patent, inducement of patent infringement, and various related federal and state law claims. Amity’s counsel withdrew during the trial, and the district court.declared a mistrial. The district court…