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The Title 28 of the United States Code QUESTION #3711
Question 1
A plaintiff sues a defendant for patent infringement. The court enters a final judgment in favor of the defendant. A year later, the plaintiff sues the same defendant for trade secret misappropriation based on the exact same set of facts and product development. The defendant moves to dismiss. What is the most likely result?
  • The motion is denied because the legal theories (patent vs trade secret) are different.
  • The motion is granted based on issue preclusion.
  • The motion is granted based on claim preclusion (res judicata).✔️
  • The motion is denied because the plaintiff did not 'actually litigate' the trade secret claim in the first case.
Correct Answer Explanation
Claim preclusion (res judicata) prevents a party from re-litigating a claim that was or *could have been* brought in a prior action between the same parties that resulted in a final judgment on the merits, provided the new claim arises from the same transaction or occurrence.