Substantial question regarding validity insufficient to defeat likelihood of success? In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of a preliminary injunction concerning the manufacture of an extended release formulation of an antibiotic. In a lengthy opinion, the Federal Circuit applied the Supreme Court's obvious-to-try logic from KSR to pharmaceutical patents. Notably, the court used the unpredictability of the pharmaceutical arts […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Copyright owner’s ambiguous reservation of rights clarified with extrinsic evidence In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment that a copyright holder did not have standing to sue for copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and related declaratory judgment claims. The case involved the film Gone in 60 Seconds, produced and directed in 1974 by H.B. "Toby" Halicki, and remade […] Continue Reading →
USPTO releases 2008 annual report The USPTO today released its annual report for fiscal year 2008 (press release here), which ended September 30. Below is a comparison of a few key statistics with the 2007 stats: 2007 2008 change Average months to first action (patent) 25.3 25.6 +.3 Average months total pendency (patent) 31.9 32.2 +.3 Percent of applications filed […] Continue Reading →
USPTO to implement annual maintenance fee for patent practitioners In today's Federal Register, the USPTO has indicated its implementation of a final rule to begin collecting annual "maintenance fees" from practitioners registered to practice before the USPTO. The notice states the fees "will recover the estimated average cost to the Office for the roster maintenance process, including the costs of operating the disciplinary system." […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit clarifies burdens of proof when priority to earlier application is contested In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's determination that the asserted claims of a patent were not entitled to the effective filing date of the earliest application in a chain of four applications, and that as a result the claims were anticipated by intervening prior art. The court explained its recent […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Trademark claim over use in video game stripped away by First Amendment In a decision Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment that the producer of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas had a First Amendment defense against a claim of trademark infringement. The plaintiff owns a strip club known as the "Play Pen" on the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles. Grand […] Continue Reading →
Second Circuit: Copyright license of indeterminate term improperly read to be perpetual In this appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal of a copyright claim based on ambiguity in a contract, but affirmed dismissal of the antitrust claims because the plaintiff's proposed market definition was not plausible.The district court dismissed the copyright claims based […] Continue Reading →
Disclosure of single antibody insufficient to describe genus of related antibodies In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences sustaining in part the examiner's final rejection of the broadest claim in an application, directed to methods of treating neurofibrosarcoma using monoclonal antibodies. The Board reversed the examiner's rejection of the claim for lack of enablement, but […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit declines to consider constitutionality of BPAI judge appointments, affirms rejection In a decision this week, the Federal Circuit decided a case involving both obviousness and the Appointments Clause relating to allegedly unconstitutional appointment of members of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The court determined that appellants failed to timely raise the issue of the constitutionality of the Appointments Clause by not presenting it […] Continue Reading →
Bilski: No machine or transformation, no patentable method, at least for now As we reported Thursday, the Federal Circuit has decided In re Bilski, an en banc decision regarding the scope of patentable subject matter. Specifically, the court addressed what is necessary for a method to fall within the scope of patentable subject matter under § 101. The court, after examining the relevant Supreme Court cases on […] Continue Reading →