Intellectual Property

Yesterday morning, the full Federal Circuit issued its en banc opinion in Suprema, Inc. v. ITC and reversed the controversial Federal Circuit opinion that had effectively precluded the International Trade Commission from finding induced infringement in most cases involving method claims.

The International Trade Commission has recently released the public version of the Administrative Law Judge’s Final Initial Determination in Certain Marine Sonar Imaging Devices, Including Downscan and Sidescan Devices, Products Containing the Same, and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-921, Init Det. (July 2, 2015).

Two new Collaboration Search Pilot Programs are or will soon be available to patent applicants.  The Collaboration Search Pilot Program (CSP) between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) is available as of August 1, 2015.

Earlier this week, the Federal Circuit in Circuit Check Inc. v. QXQ, Inc. clarified the standard by which a reference may be considered prior art for the purposes of an obviousness determination.

Yesterday the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) added a recent order to its list of Representative Orders, Decisions, and Notices. 

On June 26, 2015, the ITC handed down its Commission Opinion in Certain Loom Kits for Creating Linked Articles, Inv. No. 337-TA-923, Comm’n Op. (Feb. 3, 2015) (hereinafter “Loom Kits ”), granting a general exclusion order.

On June 23, 2015, the Federal Circuit affirmed the finding of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (“District Court”) dismissing the complaints in four related actions for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,707,505 (the ‘505 Patent) on the ground of patent ineligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101.

The Federal Circuit’s recent en banc opinion in Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10082, *2 (Fed. Cir. June 16, 2015) (Williamson II) may result in courts finding that more claims include “means-plus-function” claim elements, which could significantly affect the scope and validity of those claims.

PART III:  First, the JOBS Act requires the SEC to issue complex implementing rules prior to crowdfunding becoming a reality.  For any startup seeking funding through a crowdfunding source, the rules proposed by the SEC under the Act demand detailed disclosures regarding the company. The company must also describe exactly how the securities it is offering are being valued.

PART 2: he US government began to address these investment challenges through the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) in April 2012. While companies like Kickstarter allow startups to sell products or services, the JOBS Act envisions companies actually selling equity in themselves through crowdfunding campaigns. 

Politico, the popular political journalism publication, recently ran the story “Patent Reform Advocates: PTO Process Not Patent ‘Death Squad.’” The story was based on a blog post by patent reform advocate Unified Patents.

On June 16, the Federal Circuit issued its first-ever reversal of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision in an America Invents Act post-grant proceeding. The opinion, drafted by Chief Judge Prost and joined by CAFC Judge Lourie and E.D. Tex. Judge Gilstrap, provides considerable guidance on claim construction and claim amendments in practice before the PTAB.

On June 15, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued Notice in the Federal Register announcing a new pilot program, the Expedited Patent Appeal Pilot.

PART 1: Pebble Technology had an interesting goal.  It wanted to design and build a watch that could connect to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth. It wanted to allow the watch to alert a wearer with a silent vibration for incoming calls, emails and messages.

Administrative Law Judge Essex has made another important contribution to the ongoing conversation regarding the enforcement of standard essential patents (SEPs) at the International Trade Commission.

For only the fourth time in its history, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) has granted a motion to amend in an inter partes review (“IPR”) proceeding, finding all substitute claims proposed by the patent owner patentable.

On June 12, 2015, in Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc., the Federal Circuit affirmed the Northern District of California’s finding that the method claims in U.S. Patent 6,258,540 (‘540 patent) for detecting paternally-inherited cell-free fetal DNA (“cffDNA”) in maternal plasma or serum were invalid because these claims were not directed to patent eligible subject matter (Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc., No. 2014-1139, 2014-1144 (Fed. Cir., June 12, 2015)).

In a confluence of IP and antitrust law, a three judge panel for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a lower court decision upholding the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) 2013 modification of regulations under the Hart Scott Rodino (“HSR”) Act to require reporting of even partial transfers of pharmaceutical patent rights as an “asset acquisition” if all commercially significant rights are transferred.

On May 22, 2015, in a much-watched case, the Second Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction against Actavis PLC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Forest Laboratories, LLC (collectively “Actavis” or “Forest”), finding that Actavis’s “hard switch” strategy to launch an extended-release version of its blockbuster Alzheimer’s therapy and de-list the immediate-release version would likely violate Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

Yesterday, a Federal Circuit panel comprising Judges Newman, Lourie, and Chen heard oral argument in Amgen Inc. v. Sandoz Inc. (Fed. Cir. No. 2015-1499), the first ever case requiring the Appeals Court to address the meaning of various provisions of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).