Equitable Defenses: A Comprehensive Guide to Laches Acquiescence Waiver and Equitable Estoppel

49 questions on equitable defenses, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can a court refuse a laches defense in the public interest?
• Can acquiescence or waiver arise in a corporate governance dispute?
• Can a defendant plead more than one equitable defense at once?
• Can an intentional infringer assert laches?
• Can a rights-holder withdraw its acquiescence?
• Can laches bar a patent damages claim?
• Can you assert equitable estoppel against the government?
• Do equitable defenses apply outside of commercial and IP disputes?
• Do equitable defenses apply to money damages or only to injunctions?
• Does sending a cease-and-desist letter stop the laches clock?
• Does the Petrella rule mean delay costs a plaintiff nothing?
• Do I have to plead equitable defenses in my answer?
• Do no-waiver clauses actually prevent waiver?
• How did Minerva Surgical v. Hologic limit assignor estoppel?
• How do equitable defenses differ from denials, counterclaims, and tolling doctrines?
• How do equitable defenses shape behavior before a lawsuit is filed?
• How does laches work in TTAB proceedings?
• How does unclean hands operate in intellectual property cases?
• How does waiver arise in insurance coverage disputes?
• How is equitable estoppel different from promissory, judicial, and collateral estoppel?
• How is laches measured in a trademark case with no statute of limitations?
• How is unclean hands different from the other equitable defenses?
• How much factual detail must an affirmative defense contain?
• Is delay ever excused for laches purposes?
• What are equitable defenses?
• What are the elements of laches?
• What are the key takeaways on equitable defenses?
• What did Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer decide about laches?
• What discovery proves or defeats an equitable defense?
• What distinguishes the five main equitable defenses from each other?
• What happens if I forget to plead an equitable defense?
• What is acquiescence?
• What is assignor estoppel?
• What is equitable estoppel?
• What is progressive encroachment in trademark law?
• What is the difference between express and implied waiver?
• What is the difference between laches and acquiescence?
• What is the difference between laches and a statute of limitations?
• What is the difference between waiver and equitable estoppel?
• What is the modern strategy for asserting equitable defenses in an IP case?
• What is the unclean hands doctrine?
• What is waiver?
• What was the Aukerman framework and how much of it survives?
• Where is laches still a viable defense?
• Who decides an equitable defense — the judge or the jury?
• Why did the Supreme Court limit laches the way it did?
• Why do equitable defenses still exist after law and equity merged?
• Why does the relatedness requirement matter for unclean hands?
• Why has equitable estoppel become more important in patent cases?