USPTO Issues Preliminary Guidance on Patentability Based on Alice Corp. On June 25, 2014 the USPTO Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy released aMemorandum to the Patent Examining Corps that provides examiners with preliminary instructions related to subject matter eligibility of claims involving abstract ideas under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in view of the Supreme Court Decision in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Weighs in on Stays for Post-Grant Review The Federal Circuit has issued an opinion in VirtualAgility Inc. v. Salesforce.com, Inc., providing clarification regarding how court should properly determine whether to stay litigation during later-requested post-grant PTO proceedings. Under the America Invents Act, a district court is permitted, but not required, to grant such a stay. The statute also provides a list of […] Continue Reading →
PTO Interference Decisions do not Preclude Invalidity Defenses in Court The Federal Circuit has issued a decision in AbbVie v. Janssen Biotech and Centocor Biologics, which relates to patents that broadly cover antibodies which can neutralize activity of human interleukin 12 (IL-12) and have useful application in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. The patent owner, AbbVie, sued Janssen and Centocor for infringement of the patents […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court Determines Internet Service Violates Copyrights The Supreme Court has issued its much anticipateddecision in American Broadcasting Co., Inc. v. Aereo, Inc. The Court held that an internet service provided by Aereo—which allows subscribes to watch television programs over the internet contemporaneous with the programs as they are broadcasted over the air—violates of a copyright owner's exclusive right to perform a […] Continue Reading →
Generic Computer Implementation Cannot Save Patent-Ineligible Abstract Idea On June 19, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion inAlice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l. The Petitioner, Alice Corporation ("Alice Corp.") is the assignee of the four patents at issue which disclose method, system, and media claims related to a computerized scheme for mitigating "settlement risk." Respondents CLS Bank International and CLS Services […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Cancels Washington, D.C. NFL Franchise’s Trademark Registrations The United States Patent and Trademark Office issued a decision yesterday cancelling six federal trademark registrations owned by the Washington, D.C. National Football League franchise. The cancellation proceeding was brought by five Native American petitioners on the basis that the marks disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute in violation of 15 U.S.C. […] Continue Reading →
USPTO Glossary Pilot Program The USPTO has instituted a new program, the Glossary Pilot Program, which began June 2, 2014. The program will allow applicants for computer-related inventions to petition to make special entry into the Glossary Pilot Program with the filing of an application. Applications accepted into this pilot program will receive expedited processing and be placed on […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Holds Common Sense Cannot Establish Presence of an Element The Federal Circuit's recent decision in K/S HIMPP v. Hear-Wear Technologies presents an interesting development in the law of obviousness. In affirming a finding of non-obviousness by the PTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ("BPAI"), the Federal Circuit held that while common sense or basic knowledge may provide a reason to combine elements present […] Continue Reading →
Internet Discussion Systems as Prior Art The Federal Circuit's recent decision inSuffolk Technologies, LLC, v. AOL Inc., and Google Inc., adds another item to the list of "printed publications" that may preclude patenting of a claimed invention: posts on internet newsgroups. In June 2012 Suffolk Technologies, LLC sued Google Inc. for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,081,835 ("the '835 patent"), related […] Continue Reading →
Federal Trade Secret Protection Proposed in the Senate Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2014 Senators Chris Coon (D-DE) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) proposed a bill on April 29, 2014 that would provide federal protection for trade secrets. Under the current state of the law, trade secrets are protected by a combination of various state statutes, state common law, and aspects of contract law. […] Continue Reading →