Federal Circuit Summary -
Before Prost, O’Malley, and Taranto. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: The PTAB may initially accept an IPR petitioner’s identification of real-parties-in-interest, but...more
9/10/2018
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Persuasion ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Real Party in Interest ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Remand ,
Software Patents ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Vacated
The Board’s Final Written Decision Must Address All Grounds for Unpatentability Raised in a Petition for Inter Partes Review -
In Adidas AG v. Nike, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2018-1180, 2018-1181, the Federal Circuit held that...more
8/30/2018
/ Adidas ,
Anticipation ,
Appeals ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Claim Construction ,
Combined References ,
Enhanced Damages ,
Fair Market Value ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Jury Trial ,
Motivation to Combine ,
Nike ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Public Use ,
Reaffirmation ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Remand ,
SAS Institute Inc. v Iancu ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
Determining Whether a Claim Element or Combination of Elements Would Have Been Well-Understood, Routine, and Conventional Is a Question of Fact -
In Aatrix Software, Inc. v. Green Shades Software, Inc., Appeal No....more
8/7/2018
/ 35 U.S.C. § 284 ,
Anticipation ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Claim Amendments ,
Claim Construction ,
Claim Elements ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Combined References ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Exports ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Foreign Profits ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Inventions ,
Lost Profits ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Printed Publications ,
Prior Art ,
Question of Fact ,
Remand ,
Section 101 ,
Vacated ,
WesternGeco LLC v Ion Geophysical Corporation
A Complaint Identifying Infringing Products and the Patents Allegedly Infringed, Accompanied by Statements that the Products Meet All Elements of at Least One Claim of the Asserted Patents, May be Sufficient to Meet the...more
7/12/2018
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Contract Termination ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Foreign Corporations ,
FRCP 12(b)(2) ,
FRCP 12(b)(3) ,
Improper Venue ,
International Litigation ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Specific Jurisdiction ,
Standing ,
Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard ,
Venue ,
Writ of Mandamus
Priority Claims Cannot Be Incorporated by Reference -
In Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. West-Ward Pharmaceuticals International Limited, Appeal Nos. 2016-2707 and 2016-2708, the Federal Circuit held that when a patent for a...more
6/25/2018
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Claim Construction ,
Clear Error Standard ,
Consolidated Appeals ,
Diagnostic Method ,
Disclaimers ,
Discovery ,
Extrinsic Evidence ,
Generic Drugs ,
Incorporation by Reference ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Terms ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Priority Patent Claims ,
Privity of Contract ,
Product of Nature Doctrine ,
Real Party in Interest ,
Scope of the Claim ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Treatment Method Patents
Federal Circuit Summaries -
Before Hughes, Reyna, Stoll. Appeal from the District of Minnesota.
Summary: Specific personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation is proper when the foreign corporation allegedly...more
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Encompasses All Embodiments in the Absence of Support Specifically Excluding an Embodiment -
In Steuben Foods, Inc. v. Nestle USA, Inc., Appeal No. 2017-1290, the Federal Circuit...more
5/15/2018
/ Appeals ,
Apple ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Claim Construction ,
Claim Terms ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Nestle ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Reaffirmation ,
Remand ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Vacated
Distribution Agreements Can Constitute Offers for Sale Under Section 102(b) -
In The Medicines Company v. Hospira, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2014-1469, 2014-1504, the Federal Circuit held that a distribution agreement qualified as...more
4/11/2018
/ Amended Complaints ,
Appeals ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Claim Construction ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Direct Infringement ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Indefiniteness ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Obviousness ,
On-Sale Bar ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Pleading Standards ,
Prior Art ,
Question of Fact ,
Question of Law ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Section 101 ,
Standard of Review ,
Summary Judgment
Improperly Drafted Employment Agreement Leads to Dismissal of Patent Case Due to Lack of Standing -
In Advanced Video Technologies LLC v. HTC Corporation et al., Appeal Nos. 2016-2309, 2016-2310, 2016-2311, the Federal...more
3/14/2018
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Agency Deference ,
Appeals ,
Apportionment ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Inventors ,
Employment Contract ,
Final Written Decisions ,
FRCP 19 ,
Inter Partes Reexamination ,
IP Assignment Agreements ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Joinder ,
Judgment As A Matter Of Law ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion For New Trial ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Mutuality ,
Noninfringement ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patent Validity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Standing ,
Vacated ,
Willful Infringement
Where Parties Raise an Actual Dispute Regarding Claim Scope, the Court Must Resolve It In Nobelbiz, Inc. v. Global Connect, L.L.C., Appeal Nos. 2016-1104, 2016-1105, the Federal Circuit held that where parties raise an actual...more
2/5/2018
/ Anticipation ,
Anticipatory Reference ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Claim Amendments ,
Combined References ,
Divided Infringement ,
Indefiniteness ,
Inherency ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Amend ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Scope of the Claim ,
Standard of Review ,
Substantial Evidence Standard
Federal Circuit Summaries -
Before Dyk, Linn, and Hughes. Appeal from the Northern District of California.
Summary: Claims directed to behavior-based virus scanning, as opposed to the traditional code-matching method,...more
Claims Directed to Methods for Streaming Audiovisual Data Held Unpatentable Under § 101 -
In Two-Way Media Ltd v. Comcast Cable Communications, Appeal Nos. 2016-2531, 2016-2532, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district...more
1/5/2018
/ Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Claim Construction ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Damages ,
Evidence ,
Foreign Sales ,
JMOL ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Nonobvious ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Vacated ,
Venue ,
Waivers
Fractured Federal Circuit Holds Patent Owner Does Not Bear Burden of Persuasion in IPR Motions to Amend -
In Aqua Products, Inc. v. Matal, Appeal No. 2015-1177, the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, held that a patent...more
12/6/2017
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Persuasion ,
Burden of Production ,
Chevron Deference ,
Claim Amendments ,
Claim Construction ,
Commercial Success ,
Indefiniteness ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Intrinsic Test ,
Motion to Amend ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Reaffirmation ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
USPTO ,
Vacated
Federal Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing in Mentor Graphics v. EVE-USA -
In Mentor Graphics Corp. v. Eve-USA, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2015-1470, 2015-1554, 2015-1556, the Federal Circuit denied Synopsys’ and EVE’s petition for...more
11/14/2017
/ Appeals ,
Apportionment ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Assignor Estoppel ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Dismissals ,
Doctrine of Equivalents ,
Employment Contract ,
En Banc Review ,
Ensnarement ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Foreign Persons ,
Former Employee ,
Intervenors ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Lost Profits ,
Mexico ,
Misappropriation ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion to Transfer ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Substantial Evidence Standard ,
Trade Secrets ,
Venue ,
Writ of Mandamus
IPR Appellants Must Satisfy Article III Standing -
In Personal Audio, LLC v. Electronic Frontier Foundation, Appeal No. 2016-1123, the Federal Circuit held that standing for an appeal to a federal court is based on the...more
10/24/2017
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Lost Profits ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Standing ,
USPTO
District Court Abused Discretion in Ignoring Federal Circuit Mandate to Reconsider Attorneys’ Fees Under Octane Fitness -
In Adjustacam, LLC v. Newegg, Inc., Appeal No. 2016-1882, the Federal Circuit held that a district...more
9/15/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Adverse Inference Instructions ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Document Productions ,
Exceptional Case ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Mandates ,
Means-Plus-Function ,
Motion to Compel ,
Obviousness ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Reaffirmation ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Sanctions ,
Standard of Review ,
Totality of Circumstances Test ,
USPTO ,
Willful Misconduct
District Court Abused Discretion in Not Finding Case Exceptional -
In Rothschild Connected Devices v. Guardian Protection Services, Appeal No. 2016-2521, the Federal Circuit held that a district court abused its discretion...more
8/18/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Attorney's Fees ,
BPCIA ,
Commercial Marketing ,
Exceptional Case ,
FRCP 11 ,
Indefiniteness ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Judgment on the Pleadings ,
Means-Plus-Function ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
Notice Requirements ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Prior Art ,
Reversal ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sandoz v Amgen ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Section 102
Patent Judgments and Awards -
On July 26, 2017, after eight years of litigation and multiple appeals, a Texas federal court ordered ION Geophysical Corporation (“ION”) to pay WesternGeco L.L.C. (“WesternGeco”)...more
Patent Judgments and Awards -
On August 3, 2017, a Boston jury awarded Philips $10.4 million in damages for ZOLL’s infringement of three patents relating to automated external defibrillators. This represents only a...more
Inter Partes Reexamination Estoppel Attaches On Claim-by-Claim Basis for New Requests and Pending Proceedings -
In In re Affinity Labs Of Texas, LLC, Appeal Nos. 2016-1092, 2016-1172, the Federal Circuit held that the...more
7/12/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Claim Construction ,
Doctrine of Prosecution Disclaimer ,
Estoppel ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
First Sale Doctrine ,
Forum Shopping ,
Impression Products v Lexmark International ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Sales ,
Noninfringement ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Owner Preliminary Response ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patents ,
Principal Place of Business ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Incorporation ,
TC Heartland LLC v Kraft Foods ,
Venue
Federal Circuit Affirms Different Invalidity Results at PTAB and District Court -
In Novartis AG v. Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc., Appeal Nos. 2016-1678, 2016-1679, the Federal Circuit held that prior judicial opinions...more
6/8/2017
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Claim Construction ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
JMOL ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Section 101
Patentee’s Unnecessarily Broad Prosecution Disclaimer Affirmed by Federal Circuit -
In Technology Properties Limited LLC v. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Appeal Nos. 2016-1306, -1307, -1309, -1310, -1311, the Federal...more
5/16/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
AT&T ,
Claim Construction ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Disclaimers ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Laches ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Remand ,
SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v First Quality Baby Products ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 101 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sprint ,
Statute of Limitations
Federal Circuit Remands IPR Final Decision For Inadequate Obviousness Analysis, Sidesteps Issue of Proper Claim Construction Standard -
In Personal Web Technologies, LLC v. Apple, Inc., Appeal No. 2016-1174, the Federal...more
4/3/2017
/ 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(1) ,
Appeals ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
Claim Construction ,
Component Parts Doctrine ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Covered Business Method Proceedings ,
Fairness Standard ,
Forum State ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Life Technologies Corp v Promega Corp ,
Minimum Contacts ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Reasonable Person Test ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review
“Common Sense” Alone Is Not a Sufficient Motivation to Combine References -
In In Re: Van Os, Appeal No. 2015-1975, the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s reliance on intuition or common sense...more
3/9/2017
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Production ,
Divided Infringement ,
Inducements ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Product Labels ,
Remand ,
Standard of Review ,
Standing ,
Vacated
PTAB’s Final Written Decision in IPR Must Explain Its Basis for a Motivation to Combine References -
In In Re: Nuvasive, Inc., Appeal No. 2015-1670, the Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB’s obviousness finding in an IPR,...more
2/18/2017
/ Appeals ,
Claim Construction ,
Divided Infringement ,
Doctrine of Equivalents ,
Evidence ,
Induced Infringement ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Reversal