Sandvik Intellectual Property AB v Quarry Mining and Construction Equipment Pty Ltd (No 2)

The case of Sandvik Intellectual Property AB v Quarry Mining and Construction Equipment Pty Ltd (No 2) involved the parties Sandvik Intellectual Property AB, the patent holder, and Quarry Mining and Construction Equipment Pty Ltd, the alleged infringer. The dispute centered around allegations of patent infringement and counterclaims of invalidity of the patent in question. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with resolving these issues.

The court was required to determine whether the applicants, Sandvik, were entitled to the costs of their infringement case, despite the patent being held invalid on certain grounds. Additionally, the court had to decide whether the respondent, Quarry Mining, was entitled to the costs associated with the abandoned elements of their invalidity case. Another critical issue was whether the parties had unreasonably rejected offers of compromise.

The court ruled that the applicants were not entitled to the costs of their hypothetically successful infringement case, as the patent was found to be invalid on certain grounds. However, the respondent was not entitled to the costs associated with the abandoned elements of their invalidity case, as the rejection of the offers of compromise was deemed reasonable. The court's reasoning was grounded in the balance of justice and the principle of proportionality in awarding costs. The final orders required the applicants to pay the respondent's costs, except for those related to specific allegations of invalidity and the respondent to pay the applicants' costs only in connection with the allegations excepted from the operation of the first order.