Glaxo files motion for preliminary injunction and TRO to stop new rules, hearing on October 26? On Monday, Glaxo filed a motion for preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order in its lawsuit seeking to prevent implementation of the new USPTO rules regarding claim and continuation limits. The court has set a hearing for October 26, which the USPTO has requested by extended to October 31 in order to give it the […] Continue Reading →
Patent prosecution malpractice claim properly heard in federal court and appealed to Federal Circuit In its second decision yesterday in a legal malpractice case, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's decision that jurisdiction was proper over a legal malpractice claim on the basis that the malpractice claim involved a question of claim scope which presented a substantial question of patent law. The alleged malpractice involved prosecution of a […] Continue Reading →
No more first office actions for applications with 25+ claims? As noted on Patently-O, it appears the USPTO has stopped issuing first office actions on the merits in applications that exceed the 5/25 claim limitations. An example: This news, combined with the fact that the new rules may be considered by USPTO management as their fix for the Office's examination woes, expect the Office to […] Continue Reading →
Eighth Circuit: Fantasy Baseball service need not pay for use of athletes’ names and stats In a decision today, the Eighth Circuit held that a provider of a fantasy baseball service did not need to pay either Major League Baseball or the Major League Baseball Players Association for the right to use the names and statistics of professional baseball players in connection with its service. While this usage met the […] Continue Reading →
Prior art addressing different problem shows what was “common knowledge,” obviousness affirmed In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed the rejection of all claims subject to reexamination as obvious. The USPTO had rejected the claims based on a combination of three prior art references. The court provided an expansive discussion of obviousness post-KSR. The court noted that where the Federal circuit had gone wrong in KSR […] Continue Reading →
New revision of MPEP now available The USPTO today released the newest revision of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP). The new version is the Eighth Edition, Revision 6. Changes from the previous revision can be found here. No mention of KSR in this revision. The first mention of KSR regarding obviousness is not expected until the Ninth Edition, likely […] Continue Reading →
Malpractice claim regarding patent prosecution and litigation sufficient for federal jurisdiction In a decision today, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision finding that where patent infringement is a necessary element of a malpractice claim arising from alleged patent prosecution errors as well as the mishandling of prior patent litigation, federal question subject matter jurisdiction exists.More detail of Air Measurement Techs., Inc. v. Akin Gump […] Continue Reading →
“Ordinary creativity” of one of ordinary skill in the art used to show claims not indefinite In a decision today the Federal Circuit held that the district court had incorrectly determined that AllVoice Computing PLC's patent was invalid for indefiniteness and failure to meet the best mode requirement. In reaching its decision, the Federal Circuit determined that the lower court had used the prosecution history of the patent to interpret the […] Continue Reading →
“Exclusive enterprise licensee” does not have standing to sue for infringement without patent owner In a decision today, the Federal Circuit reversed a decision by a district court declining to dismiss a patent infringement case brought by a party possessing an "exclusive enterprise license" in the patent-in-suit. The trial court certified the question of licensee standing to the court for interlocutory appeal. In reversing the district court's denial of […] Continue Reading →
Patentee need not join in appeal for exclusive licensee to retain standing In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision that prosecution history estoppel barred application of the doctrine of equivalents, and accordingly affirmed the district court's summary judgment of no infringement.The court also held, as a matter of first impression, that when joinder of the patent owner is required before the district […] Continue Reading →