An IPR Appellant Must Establish an Injury to Have Standing

By Blog Staff

In JTEKT Corp. v. GKN Auto. Ltd., Appeal No. 2017-1828 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 3, 2018), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dismissed an inter partes review (IPR) appeal due to lack of standing. The requirement for an appellant to establish an injury in fact remains firm. JTEKT petitioned for an […]

Patent Rights are NOT Monopoly Rights

By Luke T. Mohrhauser

There has been a long believed and conveyed statement that patent rights provide a “legal monopoly”. While this may be a simple way to explain the rights held by one issued patent, this is simply not true. Monopolies, at their core, attempt to control a market or an aspect of a market. Patents provide protection […]

Protecting Your Nanotechnology Inventions – Part 1: Defining Your Space

By Jonathan L. Kennedy

In a recent post, I discussed the increasing focus on nanotechnology research including the growing number of patents issued and government funding in nanotechnology research. Obtaining the strongest and broadest protection for your nanotechnology should be a focus of any research and intellectual property (IP) strategy. There are things that can be done during research […]

PTAB to Consider When Conference Materials are Prior Art

By Blog Staff

In a consolidated appeal from two related Patent Trial and Appeals Board (“PTAB”) decisions, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) affirmed-in-part and vacated-in-part the PTAB’s findings. The CAFC affirmed the PTAB’s conclusion that challenged claims would not have been obvious over two specific references. However, the CAFC vacated the PTAB’s determination that […]

In Re: Durance

By Blog Staff

In In Re: Durance, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) vacated the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) ruling affirming an examiner’s obviousness rejection of a patent application related to a microwave vacuum-drying apparatus and method. The CAFC remanded for consideration of the applicants’ reply-brief arguments because they were properly […]

USPTO Director Andrei Lancu Takes a Look at Early Prosecution

This week, the USPTO Director, Andrei Iancu, testified before the House Judiciary Committee. In his written statement Director Iancu wrote on topics related to early prosecution that would result in lower costs to clients and would speed up the process of obtaining a patent. A new pilot program that will allow for a pre-search Examiner […]

Inter Partes Review Proceedings (IPRs) Do Not Violate Article III of the Constitution per U.S. Supreme Court

By Jonathan L. Kennedy

The U.S. Supreme held in a 7-2 decision (Justice Gorsuch and Chief Justice Roberts dissenting), Oil States Energy Servs. V. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, that the Inter Partes Review proceedings, commonly referred to as IPRs, do not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment. The Court was deciding two primary constitutional challenges: (1) whether IPRs violate […]

Amazon Develops Drones that React to Human Gestures

By Gregory Lars Gunnerson

The technology of U.S. Patent No. 9,921,579, which issued on March 20, 2018, may help Amazon grapple with how flying robots might interact with human bystanders and customers waiting on their doorsteps. Apple engineer Frederik Schaffalitzky (formerly an engineer for Amazon) is the sole inventor responsible for these recent technological innovations. While, the parent patent […]

Patentability and Patent Protection: Is the Pendulum Starting to Swing Back?

The latest US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center’s International IP Index still places the US on top overall for intellectual property. However, this is due to strength in enforcement of copyrights and trademarks, and improvements in identifying counterfeit goods before they enter the country. According the to Index, the US has dropped to […]

Just Because It’s Nanoscale, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not a Big Deal

By Jonathan L. Kennedy

Nanotechnology has been taking innovation by storm for decades now and its only increasing its footprint. This is reflected in the growing number of granted patents and published applications directed to nanotechnology inventions. For example, according to StatNano (an organization that monitors and publishing information regarding nanotechnology global developments), more than 20,000 granted patents and […]