Compliance with industry standards can be used to show patent infringement In Fujitsu et al v. Netgear, the Federal Circuit held compliance with an industry standard can be sufficient evidence to establish patent infringement. However, this rule only applies when the only way to adhere to the industry standard is to infringe the asserted patent, such that any product that complies with the standard infringes. In […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit decisions address false marking statute in Solo Cup and Brooks Brothers cases The Federal Circuit continues to address false marking cases. The court's recent decisions stress how important it is for patentees to monitor and update their labeling and other marking activities, particularly as patents expire. In June, the court affirmed a summary judgment decision in favor of Solo Cup related to the company's practice of marking […] Continue Reading →
Preamble held not limiting because body of claim sets forth complete invention In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit reversed a decision of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The district court had granted summary judgment of noninfringement to the defendant finding that the defendant's accused device did not perform a function found only in the preambles of the asserted claims.The Federal Circuit […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: AutoCAD purchasers are licensees, so first sale doctrine does not apply to resale In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit held the purchaser of a copy of AutoCAD software was not an owner of the copy, but instead a licensee. As a result, the purchaser did not have the protection of the first sale doctrine (codified in 17 U.S.C. § 109(a)) when attempting to resell the software […] Continue Reading →