Purified stereoisomer of compound in known mixture obvious in light of expected potency In a decision today, the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's pre-KSR decision of nonobviousness. The claims were directed toward a particular isomer of a compound that was "substantially free" of other isomers. The prior art included a mixture that included the claimed isomer as well as a different isomer. The court found the claims […] Continue Reading →
Sponsors of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 playing hardball? According to reports, several of the key opponents of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908) withdrew their opposition to the bill before the House vote last Friday. Among those reportedly withdrawing their opposition include the AFL-CIO, Motorola, and the Association of American Universities, among others. Why did they withdraw their opposition? It sounds […] Continue Reading →
“Outer surface” cannot encompass interior surface based on statements made in prosecution history The Federal Circuit yesterday reversed a district court's claim construction and its corresponding determination of literal infringement. The court found that the prosecution history of the patents negated the district court's claim construction, and that, properly construed, there could be no literal infringement.The term at issue was the "outer surface" of a drive collar. The […] Continue Reading →
Full scope of claims must be enabled to meet enablement requirement The Federal Circuit yesterday affirmed a district court's holding of invalidity based on lack of enablement. At issue was a claim that encompassed two different types of structures for side-impact sensing in motor vehicles, a mechanical sensor and an electronic sensor. The court noted that the full scope of a claim must be enabled in […] Continue Reading →
House expected to pass Patent Reform Act of 2007 today That House version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908) is expected to be considered and passed today. There have been several modifications to the bill since it was first introduced, so even if the Senate also passes it, there likely will be many differences between the House and Senate versions that will […] Continue Reading →
House Passes Patent Reform Act of 2007 As expected, the House this afternoon passed its version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908). The vote was 220-175, with 37 not voting. Now the lobbying action will move to the Senate. Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit affirms finding of no anticipation or obviousness, no mention of KSR to be found The Federal Circuit yesterday affirmed a decision by the District Court for the District of Delaware upholding the validity of Reissue Patent 34,712 ("the '712 patent") and the injunction preventing infringement of the '712 patent. Specifically, the court affirmed the district court's decision that the prior art reference relied upon for the defendants' anticipation argument […] Continue Reading →
Government recommends Supreme Court hear patent exhaustion case In a filing on August 24 (that got put on the back burner with the hubbub about the new continuation and claim limit rules), the government has recommended that the Supreme Court grant certiorari in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. (No. 06-937). Detail about the Federal Circuit's decision may be found in this […] Continue Reading →
Infringement and royalty rate affirmed; dismissal of willful infringement claim reversed In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in part a district court's grant of summary judgment of infringement of a patent, finding that the claims were properly held to include measuring devices that either directly or indirectly compare two signals to determine the proper measurement. The court reversed-in part the district court's damages award. The […] Continue Reading →
Third Circuit: Patentee’s intentional falsehood to standards body can support antitrust claim Maybe it's time for Qualcomm to rethink how it approaches standard-setting organizations. In a decision today, the Third Circuit reversed in part a district court's dismissal of rival Broadcom's antitrust claims, finding that Broadcom had adequately pleaded actions by Qualcomm that, if true, would constitute an antitrust violation. The facts of the case are similar […] Continue Reading →