When Business Relationship Information is Not a Trade Secret: Review by the Federal Circuit

By Sarah M.D. Luth

On March 12, 2021 the Federal Circuit provided a precedential opinion affirming a Florida district court’s decision declining to seal information regarding a business relationship between two businesses where the party seeking redaction failed to prove that the information was a trade secret. Plaintiff DePuy and Defendant Veterinary Orthopedic Implants, Inc. (VOI) are competitors in […]

Celebrating National Agriculture Week

National Agriculture Week, March 21-27, is devoted to educating people about where food, fiber, and fuel come from. Every year, producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies, and others join together to recognize the contributions of agriculture. In celebration of National Ag Week, here are some agricultural and farm facts: According to most recent U.S. […]

Pegasus Universal Aerospace’s Patents Vertical Business Jet

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

Pegasus Universal Aerospace (Pegasus UA) has recently acquired a U.S. patent for a newly developed vertical takeoff and landing business jet. The patent, U.S. Patent No. 10,710,713, names Dr. Mohamed Reza Mia as its sole inventor. Dr. Reza Mia also serves as Pegasus UA’s founder and chairman. The Johannesburg-based South Africa company seemingly hopes to […]

Federal Circuit Judge Evan Wallach Taking Senior Status

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

Seat 9 of the Federal Circuit is being vacated by Judge Evan Wallach, who was appointed by President Barack Obama and will take senior status. President Joe Biden will thus be tasked with nominating the seat’s next holder. The seat will be officially vacated on May 31, 2021. The last seat to open up on […]

Inventor of Revolutionary Cassette Tape Passes Away

By Kirk M. Hartung

The inventor of the cassette tape, Lou Ottens, passed away at 95 last week.  The Dutch mechanical engineer began working for Philips in 1952, and became head of the product development department in 1957. Seeking an improvement to reel-to- reel recording spools and their problem with loose tape, Ottens’ goal was an enclosed case which […]

Antibody Claim Strategies After the Amgen v. Sanofi Decisions

By Charles P. Romano, Ph.D.

Monoclonal antibodies (“mAb”) which specifically bind therapeutic targets dominate the biopharmaceutical market with global sales revenues estimated at nearly US$163 billion in 2019. Prior to the 2017, mAb were often protected in the US by broad claims which described the therapeutic target (i.e., the “antigen”) that the mAb could bind since such mAb could be […]

Letters To and From Senators Express Concern Over Patent Eligibility Problems

By Kirk M. Hartung

The Intellectual Property Owners Association, a trade group representing patent owners, recently sent a public letter to U.S. Senators who are on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property and on the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet in the House, voicing concerns over the current state of the law on patent eligibility. […]

Celebrating International Women’s Day

By Heidi Sease Nebel

International Women’s Day on March 8th each year celebrates the social, economic, and political achievements of women around the world. The day also brings international awareness to gender parity. The state of Iowa has a storied history of gender equality with the Arabella Mansfield, the first woman in the country admitted to a state bar […]

Right to Repair: Infringement or Exhaustion Part 3

This post is part 3 of a series of posts relating to a person’s right to repair their purchased products. Parts 1 and discussed the general background and several policy arguments surrounding both sides of this issue and the main patent laws and legal doctrine related to the right to repair. This part will discuss […]