On March 18, 2024, the USPTO issued a memorandum to its Examiners reminding them of the resources and proper analysis for interpreting limitations under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), which are commonly referred to as...more
On March 18, 2024, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) issued a memorandum to patent examiners addressing means-plus-function and step-plus-function claim limitations and how to clearly articulate, in the prosecution...more
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officials recently reiterated to all patent examiners that they must provide clear, consistent analysis regarding means-plus-function and step-plus-function limitations. ...more
The Federal Circuit has affirmed a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) finding unpatentable certain claims of a patent for making semiconductor devices. The case is Bell Semiconductor LLC v....more
Case Name: Chiesi USA, Inc. v. Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc., Civ. No. 19-18756, 2022 WL 3703207 (D.N.J. Aug. 16, 2022) (Quraishi, J.) Drug Product and Patent(s)-in-Suit: Cleviprex® (clevidipine injectable emulsions); U.S....more
Addressing the issue of negative claim limitations, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a petition for panel rehearing, vacated its prior decision (authored by now-retired Judge O’Malley) and reversed the...more
The Federal Circuit published a precedential decision on September 1, 2021 regarding the unenforceability of a pharmaceutical patent due to inequitable conduct. In Belcher Pharmaceuticals LLC v. Hospira, Inc., the Court...more
The Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal of design patent infringement claims under an estoppel theory triggered by amendments made to meet patentability requirements in Curver Luxembourg, SARL v. Home Expressions Inc., No....more
CELLSPIN SOFT, INC. V. FITBIT, INC. ET AL. Before Lourie, O’Malley, and Taranto. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Summary: While not all factual allegations that are...more
Patent practitioners, inventors, in-house counsel, and patent examiners alike have been clamoring for more guidance on computer-implemented functional claim limitations invoking § 112(f) since the Federal Circuit’s en banc...more
On May 22, 2019, a bipartisan committee of the U.S. Senate and House released a draft bill on § 101 reform, in a further attempt to reduce procedural obstacles for patent applicants. The draft bill would change the...more
On April 18, 2018, the Director of the USPTO Andrei Iancu informed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that he aims to propose changes to America Invents Act reviews by this summer 2018. The Director told the Committee that...more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) overturned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB or the “Board”) findings of anticipation “[b]ecause the [B]oard’s anticipation...more