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USPTO proposes new BPAI rules to cope with upcoming increase in appeals

In a Federal Register notice yesterday, the USPTO promulgated revised rules for practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The USPTO will accept comments on the proposed rules until September 28, 2007 via email, fax, or postal mail. Many of the proposed rules appear designed to advance the USPTO's current trend toward finding […]

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KSR in litigation: Summary judgment of obviousness granted post-KSR after denial pre-KSR

The Wall Street Journal today is reporting about a patent infringement case in the Northern District of California that is believed to be the first instance where a district court has changed its opinion regarding the validity of a patent as a result of KSR. The court found two principles from KSR to "guide" the […]

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Sixth Circuit: Proper copyright infringement test applied, finding of no infringement affirmed

In a decision Friday, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a district court's finding of no copyright infringement, holding that the lower court had applied the proper legal standard. Specifically, while the district court characterized the test for substantial similarity in a different manner, the application of the test was proper insofar as the court removed from […]

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Federal Circuit provides more detail on FDA research exemption to infringement

The Federal Circuit recently decided a case on remand from the Supreme Court's decision regarding the research exception to patent infringement (35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(1), "The FDA exception"). The Federal Circuit reversed the district court's finding of infringement, holding that the experiments were not infringements because they were reasonably related to research that would be […]

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Revised TTAB rules coming soon

The TTABlog reports that the revised TTAB rules initially proposed in a notice of proposed rulemaking on January 17, 2006 are likely to be published in the Federal Register in the next week. The summary of the rules as initially proposed is as follows: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (Office) proposes to amend […]

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UK rejects proposal for 20 year copyright extension for sound recordings

Yesterday the UK Department for Culture, Media & Sport issued a report rejecting a suggestion to push for an extension of copyright term in the EU for sound recordings of 20 additional years, from 50 to 70 years. Citing the Gowers Review of the UK's intellectual property framework, the report notes: [The Gowers Review] concluded […]

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Continuation and claims rules to publish “later this summer,” will take effect 60 days later

In a press release today, the USPTO announced that the much-rumored new rules regarding continuation applications and claim limits recently approved by the OMB will publish in the Federal Register "later this summer," and will take effect 60 days after publication. The USPTO notes that the abstracts published with the OMB reflect the abstracts from […]

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Invalidity affirmed on double patenting grounds; inequitable conduct finding vacated

In the second of two rulings yesterday, the Federal Circuit found the patent on Toprol-XL® (a drug used to treat hypertension, angina, and congestive heart failure) invalid based on obviousness-type double patenting, affirming summary judgment on the issue. The court vacated and remanded the grant of summary judgment of unenforceability due to inequitable conduct, as […]

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Senate Judiciary Committee passes Patent Reform Act of 2007 out of committee

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed its version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145, House version H.R. 1908) out of committee by a vote of 13-5. The bill is cosponsored by the chairman of that committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, who issued a press release regarding the passage. As with the House […]

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Federal Circuit affirms requirement to amend listing of goods to exclude goods in another class

In the first of two Federal Circuit rulings today, the court affirmed that the USPTO was within its authority when it refused to allow an applicant to rely on the international classification to clarify ambiguities in the listing of goods for a trademark. In affirming the TTAB, the court emphasized the deference due to the […]

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