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Am I Being Clear Enough? - PTAB Reaffirms Lower Pre-Issuance Threshold for Indefiniteness in Ex Parte McAward

September 20, 2017 | Blog | By Brad M Scheller , Kevin Amendt

On August 25, 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued a precedential opinion in Ex Parte McAward, reaffirming the Patent Office’s use of a lower pre-issuance threshold for indefiniteness distinct from the Supreme Court’s Nautilus standard.
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Octane Fitness Hits the Showers: Federal Circuit Affirms Attorneys’ Fees Award in Landmark Case

September 19, 2017 | Blog | By Andrew DeVoogd

After an eight-year battle through the Federal Courts, the fight over attorneys’ fees in Octane Fitness v. ICON Health & Fitness has likely reached its end with the Federal Circuit upholding the hotly disputed $1.6 million award to Defendant Octane Fitness.
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Upcoming Opinion in ITC Expected To Provide Important Guidance on FRAND and SEPs

September 5, 2017 | Blog | By Robert Moore

The decision in U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation Certain Magnetic Data Storage Tapes and Cartridges Containing the Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-1012 (“1012 Investigation”), is still confidential, but the ITC has issued a notice stating that ALJ Shaw has ruled in favor of patentee Fujifilm against Sony and recommended that an exclusion order be issued.
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In a Reversal, Federal Circuit Finds Data Processing Claims Patent-Eligible Under Section 101 in Visual Memory v. NVIDIA

August 23, 2017 | Blog | By Michael Renaud, Brad M Scheller , Robert Moore

Last week, the Federal Circuit held computer memory system patent claims not abstract and thus patent-eligible under Section 101, reversing a lower court dismissal of the case under Rule 12(b)(6).
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DTSA and Ex Parte Seizure – Lessons from the First Ex Parte Seizure Under The DTSA

August 21, 2017 | Blog | By Michael Renaud, Nick Armington

The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) Ex Parte Seizure mechanism allows victims of trade secret misappropriation to quickly prevent further dissemination of confidential information by asking a court to direct federal marshals to seize stolen trade secret material and secure that material during the pendency of a formal DTSA case.
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District Courts Remain Split on TC Heartland and Waiver of Improper Venue Defense

August 21, 2017 | Blog | By Brad M Scheller

The Supreme Court’s decision five months ago in TC Heartland v. Kraft Food Group Brands was a sea change in the way courts interpret venue for patent infringement cases.
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Federal Circuit Says PTO Submissions Can Waive Privilege to Future Communications

August 15, 2017 | Blog

On July 20, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in In re OptumInsight denied OptumInsight’s petition for writ of mandamus on privilege waiver.
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ITC Denies Suspension or Temporary Rescission of Remedial Orders After PTAB Invalidates Patents at Issue

July 28, 2017 | Blog | By Michael Renaud

In a first of its kind decision with important ramifications for patentees, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) denied a petition to suspend or temporarily rescind remedial orders issued in Investigation No. 337-TA-945 pending appeal of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) separate finding that the patent claims at issue are invalid.
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Federal Circuit Thoroughly Reverses District Court Findings of Velcade® Patent Obviousness

July 26, 2017 | Blog | By Adam Samansky, Joe Rutkowski

On July 17, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed, in a precedential opinion in Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., No. 2015-2066 (Fed. Cir. July 17, 2017), a district court ruling that claims of a patent directed to the Velcade® cancer treatment drug compound were invalid as obvious.
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Extension of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program

June 28, 2017 | Blog | By Terri Shieh-Newton

On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it would be extending the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, which permits patent applications pertaining to cancer immunotherapy to be examined in an expedited fashion.
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Federal Circuit Puts the Brakes on PTAB Final Written Decision For Procedural APA Violation

June 28, 2017 | Blog | By William Meunier , Peter Cuomo

In EmeraChem Holdings LLC v. Volkswagen Group of Am. Inc., the Federal Circuit reminded the PTAB that it must abide by the APA’s requirements of adequate notice and an opportunity to respond when conducting a post-grant review.
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ITC Issues Public Commission Opinion Clarifying Methodology for Allocating Domestic Industry Expenses and Issuing Exclusion Order against Product with Medical Applications

June 23, 2017 | Blog | By Daniel Weinger

On May 17, 2017, the International Trade Commission (ITC) reversed an ALJ’s ruling and found a violation of Section 337 in Certain Air Mattress Systems, Components Thereof and Methods of using the Same (“Certain Air Mattress Systems”), Inv. No. 337-TA-971, due to the importation of certain air mattresses, and components of air mattresses, by the named respondents.
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Supreme Court to Decide the Constitutionality of Inter Partes Review

June 22, 2017 | Blog | By Michael Renaud, Andrew DeVoogd

In a move that could drastically change the patent law landscape, the United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Services LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group LLC, No. 16-712, to answer the question whether the inter partes review (IPR) process violates the U.S. Constitution by “extinguishing private property rights through a non-Article III forum without a jury.”
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Calculating Patent Term Adjustment: Part 1

June 22, 2017 | Blog | By Christina Sperry, Elissa Kingsland

This article is first in a series focusing on various issues related to Patent Term Adjustment. Part 1 is a general overview of how to calculate patent term adjustment, without addressing the numerous factors that can affect patent term adjustment that will be examined in future articles.
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Amgen v. Sandoz: The Supreme Court’s First Biosimilars Ruling

June 14, 2017 | Blog | By Thomas Wintner, Joe Rutkowski

In a unanimous decision issued on June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court for the first time interpreted key provisions of the 2010 Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCIA”).
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PTAB Invalidates Two Cisco Patents Found Valid and Infringed at the ITC

June 14, 2017 | Blog

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) issued Final Written Decisions regarding Cisco’s U.S. Patent Nos. 6,377,577 (the “’577 Patent”) and 7,023,853 (the “’853 Patent”) on May 25, 2017 and U.S. Patent No. 7,224,668 (the “’668 Patent”) on June 1, 2017.
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Pumping Up Exceptional Cases Under the Octane Fitness Standard

June 13, 2017 | Blog | By Andrew DeVoogd

A flurry of activity from various courts this past week on “exceptional cases” under Section 285 of the Patent Act provided notable guidance for practitioners and patent owners, with a particular emphasis on the motivation and conduct of the litigants.
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Supreme Court Overrules and Rewrites 25 Years of Federal Circuit Law on Patent Exhaustion

May 31, 2017 | Blog | By Andrew DeVoogd

In keeping with recent erosion of patent rights, patent owners’ power to control the post-sale use and sale of their patented products was severely limited this week by the U.S. Supreme Court in the highly anticipated case regarding the patent exhaustion doctrine, Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Impression Prods., Inc., No. 15-1189.
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The DTSA and Inevitable Disclosure

May 30, 2017 | Blog | By Michael Renaud, Nick Armington

A recent decision in the Northern District of Illinois gave life to the inevitable disclosure doctrine under the Defend Trade Secrets Act.
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Patent Litigation Venue: Supreme Court Clarifies Venue Statutes in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods.

May 24, 2017 | Blog | By Matthew Hurley, Brad M Scheller , Serge Subach

The U.S. Supreme Court announced its ruling in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC on May 22, 2017, a patent infringement case that has garnered national attention for its implications on venue.
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