Blonder-Tongue Laboratories v. University of Illinois Foundation
United States Supreme Court
402 U.S. 313 (1971)
Relevant factsFree
A court in a prior lawsuit had ruled a patent held by the University of Illinois Foundation (plaintiff) invalid. The Foundation nonetheless sued Blonder-Tongue Laboratories (defendant) for infringing the same patent and won at trial and on appeal. Blonder-Tongue argued to the Supreme Court that the earlier invalidity ruling should have barred the Foundation from relitigating the patent's validity, even though Blonder-Tongue had not been a party to that earlier case.
IssueFree
Whether a defendant in a later lawsuit may invoke nonmutual collateral estoppel against a plaintiff who already lost on the same issue in an earlier action, when the plaintiff had a full and fair opportunity to litigate that issue.