Sheppard secured another significant victory for Impulse Downhole Tools USA, Inc. when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas rejected a challenge to the enforceability of the patents underlying a $47.6 million patent infringement verdict previously obtained by Impulse.
Following a three-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison granted Impulse's Rule 52(c) motion and held that Downhole Well Solutions LLC failed to establish inequitable conduct during prosecution of the asserted patents. The ruling clears the final hurdle to enforcement of the jury's March 2026 verdict in favor of Impulse.
As previously shared by Sheppard, "Favorable Jury Verdict for Impulse Downhole Solutions in Patent Dispute," a Houston federal jury found that Downhole infringed two Impulse patents through its PowerGLIDE and PowerGLIDE On Demand friction reduction tools and awarded Impulse $47.6 million in damages.
At the subsequent bench trial, Downhole alleged that inventor Troy Lorenson intentionally withheld material information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during prosecution of the patents. Judge Ellison rejected those allegations, finding that Downhole failed to prove deceptive intent.
In his order, Judge Ellison wrote that he found Lorenson's testimony credible and could not conclude that Lorenson had "a specific intent to deceive the USPTO." The court further observed that it was "at least as likely that Mr. Lorenson believed he had disclosed all relevant information to his patent attorneys and felt secure in relying on their expertise."
The Sheppard trial team representing Impulse was led by John Keville and included Michelle Replogle, Robert Green, Michael Krill, Chante Westmoreland, Michael Heins, Usayd Siddiqi and Evan Lim.
The case is Impulse Downhole Tools USA, Inc. v. Downhole Well Solutions LLC, Case No. 4:23-cv-02954, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.