{1:35 minutes to read} On April 8, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit, decided Genetic Technologies Limited v. Merial L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. The issue of this case related to the discovery that, in human DNA, certain coding alleles are always linked with certain non-coding alleles. Thus, searching for the non-coding sequences corresponding […]
{1:40 minutes to read} A significant case for the patent law industry is currently on appeal before the Federal Circuit court. The case, Immersion Corp. v HTC Corp., could decide what happens when an application is filed before the patenting of its parent application. Oral arguments for this case will be heard by the court […]
{1:40 minutes to read} In evaluating the case Magna Electronics, Inc. v. TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., I pose an important question: Is this the end of the patent term adjustment? What are the facts of the case? The patent at issue (U.S. Patent No. 7,339,149, hereinafter “the ‘149 patent”) was filed November 16, 1999, by […]
{2:15 minutes to read} In Avid Technology, Inc. v. Harmonic, the Federal Circuit found that Harmonic did not infringe on the patent and that the district court—based on a statement made during the prosecution of the underlying patent—had erred in construing a claimed term too narrowly. During prosecution, to distinguish the claimed subject matter over […]
{2:25 minutes to read} The new case Lexmark v. Impression addresses the right to import, reuse, and resell patented articles. Specifically, this case reaffirmed that: A seller can use its patent rights to block both resale and reuse of a product. Authorized sales of a product abroad does not exhaust the US patent rights associated […]
{3:30 minutes to read} In the recently decided case In re Urbanski, the Federal Circuit Court upheld the decision of the United States Patent & Trademark Office’s Trial and Appeal Board, which had found obvious the claims of Urbanski’s patent application. Urbanski had argued unsuccessfully that the cited references taught away from their combination. However, […]
{2:55 minutes to read} When drafting a patent application, it is very important to be mindful of admissions as well as any information in the public domain. In looking at a recent appeal that was decided by a Federal Circuit Court, we learn why this is so important: During the prosecution of U.S. Patent Application […]
{2:30 minutes to read} The Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has just announced another new pilot program designed to reduce the backlog of ex parte appeals waiting to be heard by the Board. It will allow small or micro-entity appellants with only a single appeal pending […]
{3:45 minutes to read} The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently announced a change in the way corrections of foreign priority claims are handled. Previously, foreign priority or domestic benefit claims had to be submitted in a timely manner to allow for publication of patent applications at 18 months from the earliest […]
What happens to the patent term extension in patents that are terminally disclaimed? The Hatch-Waxman Act establishes a patent term extension for patents that are related to certain products subject to regulatory delays that could not be marketed prior to regulatory approval. What happens if, during the prosecution, the applicant files a terminal disclaimer that […]