Filewrapper

Federal Circuit Schedules Oral Hearing in First Appeal of Inter Partes Review

The Federal Circuit has scheduled oral arguments for the first appeal of an inter partes review ("IPR") decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB"). Oral arguments have beenscheduled for November 3, 2014. The appeal involves a number of interesting issues. First, it arises from the first IPR filed with the PTAB—Garmin USA, Inc. […]

Continue Reading →

FDA Releases First “Purple Book” for Biosimilar Products

The Biosimilars Act (BSA) was passed into law on March 23, 2010 with the goal of encouraging the market entry of generic products, similar to the system that exists for generic drugs under the Hatch-Waxman Act. The BSA sets forth an abbreviated approval pathway for biologics through a regulatory demonstration of biosimilarity (i.e. interchangeability). More […]

Continue Reading →

USPTO Issues Report on Virtual Patent Marking Under the AIA

Among the provisions of the America Invents Act that went into effect on September 16, 2011 was a change to the patent marking provisions contained in 35 U.S.C. § 287(a). Marking an article as with a patent number provides constructive notice to the public that the article is patented, and failure to appropriately mark an […]

Continue Reading →

Passing Off and Taking Credit for Architectural Plans

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has issued a decision in Gensler v. Strabala, overturning a district court’s ruling dismissing a complaint for trademark infringement under §43(a) of the Lanham Act. Strabala, a former Design Director and architect for the architectural firm Gensler & Associates, formed his own design firm, 2Define […]

Continue Reading →

Should Trade Secret Misappropriation be Federalized?

The legal community (along with bipartisan legislation) has been discussing the creation of a private cause of action under federal laws for trade secret misappropriation – or trade secret theft. In light increased cyber-espionage and the apparent ease in which trade secrets can be misappropriated in the marketplace, Congress has taken an apparent interest in […]

Continue Reading →

Legitimate Advocacy and Genuine Misrepresentation of Material Facts

The Federal Circuit has issued a decision inApotex Inc. v. UCB, Inc., upholding a district court's finding that Apotex's U.S. Patent No. 6,767,556 ("the '556 patent") is unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. Dr. Sherman, founder and chairman of Apotex, wrote the '556 patent application and is its sole inventor. The '556 is based on Canadian […]

Continue Reading →

Critical Versus Optional, but Desireable Claim Elements

On August 6, 2014, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in ScriptPro, LLC v. Innovation Associates, Inc. In 2006, the Petitioner ScriptPro, LLC sued Innovation Associates, Inc. for infringement of claims 1, 2, 4, and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 6,910,601 ("the '601 patent"). The '601 patent describes a "collating unit" that […]

Continue Reading →

Federal Circuit Invalidates Patent Claims As Non-Patentable Subject Matter

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's recent decision in Digitech Image Technologies v. Electronics for Imaging, Inc., upheld a decision that patent claims directed to a collection of numerical data that lacks a physical component or manifestation as well as an abstract idea of organizing data through mathematical correlations are invalid. The […]

Continue Reading →

Court of Federal Claims Confirms Payment of Maintenance Fees Still Required

A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ("CFC") has upheld the statutorily-mandated maintenance fees required by the USPTO in order to keep issued patents in force. The owner of an issued patent must pay maintenance fees to the USPTO three times during the lives of their issued patents to keep them in […]

Continue Reading →

USPTO Patent Invalidation Precludes Judicial Equitable Remedies and Sanctions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued a decision inePlus, Inc. v. Lawson. ePlus sued Lawson asserting infringement of two patents—U.S. Patent Nos. 6,023,683 ("the '683 patent") and 6,505,172 ("the '172 patent"). At trial, the district court held two of ePlus's asserted system claims and three of ePlus's asserted method claims […]

Continue Reading →

Stay in Touch

Receive the latest news and updates from us and our attorneys.

Sign Up