In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit held that a district court construed a claim limitation too narrowly. However, even under the broader construction, summary judgment was still appropriate, because there was no genuine issue of fact that the accused method still did not practice that element, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. […]
Continue Reading →As expected, this morning the USPTO filed a notice of appeal to the Federal Circuit in the lawsuit challenging its new claim and continuation rules. The USPTO will seek reversal of the district court's order finding the new rules exceeded the USPTO's rulemaking authority. We'll continue to monitor the case as it proceeds through briefing […]
Continue Reading →This Thursday, the Federal Circuit will hear oral arguments en banc in In re Bilski (No. 2007-1130), a case that will help define the scope of patentable subject matter. Numerous amicus briefs have been filed in the case, and perhaps most interestingly, two of the amici, Bank of America and Regulatory DataCorp, have been granted […]
Continue Reading →There have been a few new things relevant to the USPTO in the past couple of weeks that we haven't had a chance to talk about. They include more comments regarding the proposed rules regarding Markush claims, a new Patent Prosecution Highway with the European Patent Office, and a pilot program where patent applicants would […]
Continue Reading →In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit vacated a district court's order denying a declaratory judgment plaintiff attorney fees, but including a scathing description of alleged spoliation by the patentee/DJ defendant. The Federal Circuit held that the district court's decision was an improper advisory opinion, and therefore vacated with instructions to dismiss.The patentee, before bringing […]
Continue Reading →In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court also denied the defendant's post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law. The defendant contended that because it shipped its allegedly infringing products f.o.b. from its place of […]
Continue Reading →In a Wednesday decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision that a patent holder's communications with a competitor's customers that the competitor's products were infringing were not objectively baseless, and therefore could not support state law tort claims of unfair competition, intentional interference with contractual relations, interference with prospective economic advantage, and trade […]
Continue Reading →In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit reversed a jury verdict of willful infringement and a total award of over $100 million based on a modified claim construction. The court also reversed the finding that one asserted claim was not anticipated, and remanded the case for a redetermination of infringement and whether the remaining claims […]
Continue Reading →In an order yesterday, the Supreme Court asked the Solicitor General's office to file a brief providing the government's views on whether it should grant certiorari in Biomedical Patent Management Corp. v. California Department of Health Services (No. 07-956). We previously blogged about the Federal Circuit's decision in this post. The case deals with whether […]
Continue Reading →In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit addressed the issue of declaratory judgment jurisdiction in the context of the Hatch-Waxman Act. The court found that a unilateral covenant not to sue on a patent does not defeat declaratory judgment jurisdiction because there is still a "restraint on the free exploitation of non-infringing goods." This case […]
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