Initial thoughts on Microsoft v. AT&T, a.k.a. Deepsouth: the sequel In what could be termed a sequel to the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp., the Court again found that if U.S. patent law is to extend its reach further into foreign acts, it must be Congress, not the courts, that extends it. The Court held that Microsoft's act of […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court reverses both KSR and Microsoft As reported at SCOTUS Blog, the Supreme Court has today ruled in two cases, reversing decisions of the Federal Circuit. The first came in KSR v. Teleflex, where the Court has apparently ruled 9-0 that the Federal Circuit's view on obviousness is too narrow, reversing the decision that Teleflex's invention was nonobvious. Previous coverage of […] Continue Reading →
Today’s opinions in KSR v. Teleflex and Microsoft v. AT&T Click here for the opinion in KSR v. Teleflex. Click here for the opinion in Microsoft v. AT&T. More to come once we've had a chance to review the decisions. Continue Reading →
House subcommittee holds first hearings on Patent Reform Act of 2007 Yesterday a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, held the first hearings on the House version of the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (HR 1908). The witnesses were: Gary L. Griswold, President and Chief Counsel of Intellectual Property 3M Innovative Properties, St. Paul Minnesota (testimony on […] Continue Reading →
Same terms, same meanings, unless specification indicates otherwise In an appeal by Porta Stor, Inc. of a judgment in favor of PODS, Inc. for, among other things, patent and copyright infringement, the Federal Circuit reversed the judgment of patent infringement finding no literal infringement and finding that infringement under the doctrine of equivalents was barred by prosecution history estoppel. The court also reversed […] Continue Reading →
Compulsory patent licenses for AIDS drugs: the beginning of an international trend? The global concern over the spread of AIDS, particularly in developing countries, is prompting some countries to take action to make patented drugs more accessible to its citizens. Earlier this year, Thailand decided to "break," or require a compulsory license to, the patent for Efavirenz, marketed as Sustiva® and Stocrin®, patented by Merck (Orange Book […] Continue Reading →
Patent Reform Act of 2007 As noted yesterday, four members of Congress (Leahy and Hatch in the Senate, Berman and Smith in the House) announced introduction of new patent reform legislation yesterday. Also as predicted yesterday, it is similar in many respects to patent reform legislation introduced in 2005 and 2006, but with a few new twists. More details of […] Continue Reading →
Congress to introduce patent reform bills today In a press conference scheduled for 2:30 2:15 pm EDT this afternoon, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), with Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX), are expected to announce introduction of identical bills in both the House and Senate in an effort to reform the patent system. [Update (4/19): see this […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court asks for Government’s view on yet another patent case In its order list released today, the Supreme Court has indicated that it may accept yet another appeal in a patent-related case, as it has invited the Office of the Solicitor General to file a brief stating the position of the United States on the case. The case is Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, […] Continue Reading →
Willful infringement affirmed; injunction vacated in light of eBay The Federal Circuit affirmed a finding of willful infringement against a medical device manufacturer, but vacated a permanent injunction entered based on the old injunction standard to be reevaluated by the district court in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay v. MercExchange. The infringer obtained opinions of counsel regarding infringement at two different […] Continue Reading →