The US Patent Office (USPTO) recently issued new guidance and three examples for AI-related patent claims, which indicate that claims applying AI to a process are unlikely to render the process patent-eligible at the USPTO...more
8/7/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
New Guidance ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Technology ,
USPTO
President Trump has signed Phase I of a much anticipated multi-part trade agreement between the United States and China with provisions that will aid the branded pharmaceutical industry. One of the main goals of the agreement...more
1/23/2020
/ China ,
Counterfeit Drugs ,
Criminal Liability ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Generic Drugs ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Secrets ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
On June 10, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-31 that the Federal Government is not a “person” entitled to institute post-grant proceedings - inter partes review, post-grant review, or covered business method review (CBM review) -...more
On June 22, 2018, the US Supreme Court clarified the scope of permissible patent damages awards by holding that when a party is found liable under
35 U.S.C. § 271(f) for exporting components of a patented invention, foreign...more
6/26/2018
/ 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(2) ,
Appeals ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Damages ,
Domestic Injury ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Profits ,
Foreign Sales ,
Lost Profits ,
Patent Act ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
WesternGeco LLC v Ion Geophysical Corporation
On May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court fundamentally narrowed patent venue by unanimously holding in TC Heartland that patent holders must follow the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), which requires suing (1) “where the...more
On April 24, 2018, the US Supreme Court decided two important cases that directly impact inter partes reviews (IPRs) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), and patent litigation as a whole. In Oil States Energy...more
4/30/2018
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
America Invents Act ,
Article III ,
Chevron Deference ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Estoppel ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Oil States Energy Services v Greene's Energy Group ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Public Rights Doctrine ,
SAS Institute Inc. v Iancu ,
SCOTUS ,
Seventh Amendment ,
USPTO
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has decided that patent owners may appeal the decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) regarding the timeliness of inter partes review petitions under 35 U.S.C. §...more
1/16/2018
/ § 315(b) ,
Appeals ,
Broadcom ,
En Banc Review ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
USPTO
On October 4, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a divided en banc decision in Aqua Products, Inc. v. Matal, vacating the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) final written decision insofar as it...more
On September 21, 2017, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in In re Cray, Inc. clarified the rules for determining proper venue in patent suits, building on the US Supreme Court’s May 2017 ruling in TC Heartland...more
On March 21, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-1 decision in SCA Hygiene Prods. Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Prods., LLC, wiping out the equitable defense of laches in some patent cases. In particular, where patent...more
On June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Federal Circuit’s rigid two-part test for awarding enhanced damages in patent cases. In two cases decided together, Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc., and...more
6/15/2016
/ 35 U.S.C. § 284 ,
Enhanced Damages ,
Halo v Pulse ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
SCOTUS ,
Seagate ,
Stryker v Zimmer ,
Willful Infringement
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6 to 3 ruling citing stare decisis, upheld the half-century rule against royalty payments accruing after expiration of a patent. The Court’s decision in Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC is a...more
6/24/2015
/ Brulotte ,
Expiration Date ,
Kimble v Marvel Enterprises ,
License Agreements ,
Patent Expiration ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patents ,
Royalties ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Stare Decisis
On January 20, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, rejected the de novo review standard applied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit when reviewing all claim construction...more
1/22/2015
/ Claim Construction ,
Clear Error Standard ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Teva Pharmaceuticals ,
Teva v Sandoz
On June 2, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held in Nautilus Inc. v. Biosig Instruments Inc. that a patent claim may be found indefinite if it fails to convey the scope of the invention “with reasonable certainty” to a person...more
On June 2, 2014, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court held in Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc. that direct infringement by a single party is a prerequisite to a finding of induced infringement. In doing so, the...more
Efforts by the U.S. Senate to pass an alternative to the Innovation Act, which aims to reform abusive patent litigation, have stalled. Sen. Patrick Leahy, who is leading the effort, has announced that his committee is tabling...more
5/26/2014
/ Apple ,
Attorney's Fees ,
DuPont ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fee-Shifting ,
Ford Motor ,
General Electric ,
Highmark ,
Highmark v. Allcare ,
IBM ,
Innovation Act ,
Medtronic ,
Microsoft ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patents ,
Pfizer ,
USPTO
In twin unanimous opinions issued yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected long-standing Federal Circuit rules governing the award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in patent litigation, and appellate review of...more
For those interested in the unique legal issues presented by the licensing and litigation efforts of non-practicing entities, the Chicago-based litigation involving non-practicing entity Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC, has...more