USPTO publishes two new proposed rules packages for trademark cases Today's Federal Register brings with it two sets of proposed rule changes from the USPTO, both dealing with prosecution of trademark cases. The first, entitled "Changes in Requirements for Signature of Documents, Recognition of Representatives, and Establishing and Changing the Correspondence Address in Trademark Cases," addresses the requirements for powers of attorney and similar documents […] Continue Reading →
Patent litigation by the numbers PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published its annual litigation study entitled 2008 Patent Litigation Study: Damages awards, success rates and time-to-trial. The study examined a wide range of variables pertaining to patent litigation from 1995 to 2007. With the number of patents granted increasing every year, the number of patent cases has continued to grow. Also, with the […] Continue Reading →
Legal owner responsible for timely payment of maintenance fees, equitable owner out of luck In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment upholding the USPTO's denial of a request to reinstate a patent for failure to pay maintenance fees. The patentee had assigned his invention to his employer, who had subsequently allowed the patent to expire due to non-payment of the maintenance […] Continue Reading →
USPTO publishes new rules for ex parte appeals before the BPAI In today's Federal Register, the USPTO has posted revised rules of practice for ex parte appeals before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. These are the final version of the rules initially proposed nearly a year ago. The rules were hinted at in a press release issued by the USPTO yesterday, and now we […] Continue Reading →
Roundup of media coverage of Quanta v. LG decision The media and legal blogs have begun to weigh in on yesterday's decision in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. , holding method claims can be exhausted by the sale of a product substantially embodying the claim. Click below for a sampling of the coverage from various sources. Media New York Times Wall Street […] Continue Reading →
Today’s opinion in Quanta v. LG now available The opinion of the Court in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. is now available here. Thanks to SCOTUSBlog for making a copy of the decision available online. Update (10:45): The closing paragraph of the decision is a good, concise summary: The authorized sale of an article that substantially embodies a patent exhausts the […] Continue Reading →
Suprme Court provides unanimous decision in Quanta v. LG: Federal Circuit reversed This morning the Supreme Court decided Quanta v. LG, reversing the Federal Circuit's decision. We'll post a link to the decision (written by Justice Thomas) as soon as it's available. Continue Reading →
Quanta v. LG: Method claims can be exhausted; harder to assert infringement later in distribution The Supreme Court today decided Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., dealing with the doctrine of patent exhaustion (also called the first sale doctrine). In a nutshell, the Court made it more difficult for patent holders to maintain a claim for infringement down the distribution chain of a product. There were three main aspects […] Continue Reading →
Partially does not include totally, judgment of noninfringement affirmed In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's claim construction and its related judgment of noninfringement. The court declined to import a meaning which went against the plain meaning of the disputed term, and stated if the patentee had intended such a meaning, it should have done so explicitly. The term at […] Continue Reading →
No lost profits when patent owned by parent but practiced by subsidiary In a decision this week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in the damages phase of a patent infringement case denying recovery for lost profits. The patentee's wholly-owned subsidiary actually practiced the claimed invention, but the subsidiary paid a standard license royalty to the patentee for use of the invention, […] Continue Reading →