USPTO Issues Updated Guidance on Patent Eligibility

Patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 has been an area of significant change in recent years.  Several Supreme Court decisions have changed our understanding of what does and does not qualify for patent protection.  These decisions, in turn, have required a change in the procedures implemented by the USPTO during the examination of patents. […]

Google Patents and Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC)

Users of Google Patents might have noticed a recent update. In addition to a new interface and layout, the most exciting innovation is an improved searching function. As background, patentability requires an invention be novel and non-obvious. To determine whether these legal requirements are satisfied, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) substantively examines pending patent […]

Federal Circuit Weighs in on Abbreviated Biosimilar Applications

The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) establishes an abbreviated pathway for regulatory approval of follow-on biological products that are highly similar to a previously approved product (the reference product).  The general structure of the abbreviated pathway, referred to as “biosimilar” licensure , is similar to that used for Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) under the […]

Impact of eBay on Injunctive Relief

Both preliminary and permanent injunctions can be crucial forms of relief in any patent case. In addition to preventing continuing infringement of a patent, an injunction puts the patent holder in a much better bargaining position for future licensing negotiations. In its eBay decision in 2006, the Supreme Court required lower courts to apply a […]

Octane Fitness in Practice: Federal Circuit Applies Supreme Court Attorney Fees Standard

The Supreme Court decision in Octane Fitness LLC v. ICON Health and Fitness (previously discussed on Filewrapper®) changed the standard for awarding attorney fees in patent suits to the prevailing party in exceptional cases under Section 258 of the patent statute. In Octane Fitness, the Court further defined “exceptional cases”to mean those “that stands out […]

The Continuing Saga of the First IPR at the Federal Circuit

    The Federal Circuit has simultaneously issued an order and an opinion in In re Cuozzo Speed Technologies, LLC, previously discussed on Filewrapper® as being the first appeal arising from an inter partes review (“IPR‚¬) . The order issued by the Federal Circuit is a denial of the Petition for En Banc Rehearing to consider […]

Kimble v. Marvel-SCOTUS’s Refusal to Overturn Brulotte

Kimble v. Marvel-SCOTUS Declines to Overturn Brulotte

            Patent portfolios are often a substantial asset to business associations, and even for the individual inventor an issued patent or two can be Big Business. Patent assignments (i.e. wholesale buying and selling of patents and patent applications) are not the only ways to trade in the commodity. Many transactions take […]

Teva v. Sandoz Revisited

Teva v. Sandoz Revisited On June 18, 2015, a Federal Circuit panel reaffirmed that the key claim of the patent at issue inTeva v. Sandoz, was invalid as indefinite. The procedural posture and technical background leading up to this decision is discussed in aprior blog post.  The Federal Circuit ultimately concluded that they are still […]

Supreme Court Weighs in on Belief of Patent Invalidity and Induced Infringement

Under 35 U.S.C. § 271, a party can be held liable for infringement of a patent under in a number of different ways. The most common liability is for direct, literal infringement of the patent, meaning that accused party actually practices every element of the asserted patent claim(s). The statute also includes provisions for liability based on […]