Federal Circuit Revives SynQor Patent By Julie L. Spieker On February 22, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that SynQor’s US Patent No. 7,072,190 was unpatentable. SynQor’s ‘190 patent relates to technology that converts DC current from one voltage to another for use in large computer systems and data communication equipment. […] Continue Reading →
“Safe Harbor” Act May Save Pfizer From Infringement for Covid Vaccine Clinical Trials By Kirk M. Hartung In October, 2020, Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals sued Pfizer, Inc. for infringement of U.S. patent 10,221,221 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The pre-Covid ‘221 patent, entitled MONOMERIC YELLOW – GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN FROM CEPHALOCHORDATE, issued on March 5, 2019, and claims priority to a provisional application filed on July […] Continue Reading →
Deposit of biological material and the differing national laws By Brian D. Keppler, Ph.D. For patent applications in the biotechnology area, a biological material is sometimes essential for carrying out the invention. The biological material can be any material capable of reproducing itself or being reproduced in a biological system, including bacteria, fungi, algae, eukaryotic cells, cell lines, hybridomas, plasmids, viruses, and plant seeds. If the biological material cannot […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit provides additional insight into § 101 eligibility By Joseph M. Hallman On February 8, 2021, in cxLoyalty, Inc. v. Maritz Holdings Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) dismissed-in-part, affirmed-in-part, and reversed-in-part a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) dealing with covered business method (“CBM”) review and subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. This is […] Continue Reading →
Congress Rescues Injunctions for Trademark Owners By Kirk M. Hartung On December 27, 2020, as part of stimulus package approved by Congress, the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) was signed into law. This law revived the presumption of irreparable harm for trademark owners against trademark infringers. Prior to 2006, trademark owners enjoyed a presumption of irreparable harm when infringement was proven. Then the U.S. Supreme Court […] Continue Reading →