$1.5 billion infringement verdict against Microsoft vacated A judge in the Southern District of California yesterday set aside a $1.5 billion infringement verdict against Microsoft in favor of Alcatel-Lucent (more detail on the facts of the case can be found in this post). The judgment was the largest ever in a patent infringement lawsuit, and has been used as an example (see […] Continue Reading →
Summary of proposed final KSR examining guidelines surfaces The Patent Prospector is reporting that the summary of the USPTO's post-KSR obviousness examination guidelines recently sent to OMB has apparently surfaced. Note that this summary is not confirmed, but it comes from a typically reliable source. Either click below or head over to the Patent Prospector to read the summary. Update (11:15): another source […] Continue Reading →
KSR in litigation: Summary judgment of obviousness granted post-KSR after denial pre-KSR The Wall Street Journal today is reporting about a patent infringement case in the Northern District of California that is believed to be the first instance where a district court has changed its opinion regarding the validity of a patent as a result of KSR. The court found two principles from KSR to "guide" the […] Continue Reading →
USPTO proposes new BPAI rules to cope with upcoming increase in appeals In a Federal Register notice yesterday, the USPTO promulgated revised rules for practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The USPTO will accept comments on the proposed rules until September 28, 2007 via email, fax, or postal mail. Many of the proposed rules appear designed to advance the USPTO's current trend toward finding […] Continue Reading →
Continuation and claims rules to publish “later this summer,” will take effect 60 days later In a press release today, the USPTO announced that the much-rumored new rules regarding continuation applications and claim limits recently approved by the OMB will publish in the Federal Register "later this summer," and will take effect 60 days after publication. The USPTO notes that the abstracts published with the OMB reflect the abstracts from […] Continue Reading →
Senate Judiciary Committee passes Patent Reform Act of 2007 out of committee On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed its version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145, House version H.R. 1908) out of committee by a vote of 13-5. The bill is cosponsored by the chairman of that committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, who issued a press release regarding the passage. As with the House […] Continue Reading →
Patent Reform Act of 2007: moving forward? Today the House Judiciary Committee sent the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908 and S. 1145) out of committee to the full House of Representatives for consideration. The amended version (found here, as it has not been updated on the Library of Congress site yet). The controversial damages apportionment provisions are still present in […] Continue Reading →
Office of Management and Budget approves USPTO’s new continuation rules The Office of Management and Budget has approved the two new rules promulgated by the USPTO relating to continuation applications and examination of claims. Apparently the meetings with various groups did not convince the OMB that the rules were inconsistent with the USPTO's regulatory authority. The rules are rumored to be different than those originally […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit reverses claim construction and noninfringement finding In a claim construction appeal, the Federal Circuit found that the doctrine of claim differentiation, combined with statements made in a petition to make special, led to a broader claim construction than that offered by the district court. Also, there was no unequivocal disclaimer of the broader claim scope during prosecution of either the patent-in-suit […] Continue Reading →
200 companies express further concerns over Patent Reform Act of 2007 The hits just keep on coming for the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908 and S. 1145). Over the past two weeks, Chief Judge Paul Michel of the Federal Circuit sent two letters criticizing portions of the Act. Before that, a group of Senators noted their concerns with the Act. Just after the Act […] Continue Reading →