Peer to Patent “community” patent review officially launches The Peer to Patent project (previously blogged about June 7, March 5, and February 28) is now up and running for its one year trial period. As noted previously, only computer-related applications are eligible for this pilot program. Thus far, there are five applications in the system: User selectable management alert format (assigned to Hewlett […] Continue Reading →
Sixth Circuit: Damages for copyright infringement available even if copies not actually used The Sixth Circuit issued a ruling that, by largely following the Second Circuit, clarifies the calculation of damages for copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504(b) and 17 U.S.C. § 505 for infringing copies of software. Specifically, the court decided that unused infringing copies should still be included in actual damages, the use of the […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit: no jurisdiction over contempt appeal, but dissolution of injunction affirmed In a decision Wednesday, the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal of a contempt order for lack of jurisdiction and ruled that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dissolving a preliminary injunction. The defendant was found in contempt of a preliminary injunction, but also found two new pieces of prior art that made […] Continue Reading →
Digital compilation of magazine archives a privileged “revision” of a collective work In a decision today, the Eleventh Circuit held that the National Geographic Society, by its publication of "The Complete National Geographic," had not infringed the copyrights of a photographer whose photos appear in the various individual issues of National Geographic. The court held that the change from print to digital media was a "revision" as […] Continue Reading →
Senators express concern over Patent Reform Act of 2007 In a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (which held hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 last week), several Republican members of the committee expressed reservations about the current version of the bill. The contingent, made up of Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Chuck Grassley […] Continue Reading →
Patent Office officially announces pilot plan for submission of prior art by third parties The USPTO yesterday officially announced the institution of a pilot project concerning "public submission of peer reviewed prior art." As we previously blogged on March 5 and February 28, the pilot project will be voluntary, and limited initially to the "computer arts." It will be handled on the Peer-to-Patent website, developed by the Community Patent […] Continue Reading →
Senate hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 As noted previously, the Senate yesterday held hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145). The witnesses were: Jon W. Dudas, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Bruce G. Bernstein, chief intellectual property and licensing officer, InterDigital Communications Corp. Mary Doyle, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, […] Continue Reading →
Thursday at the Federal Circuit: en banc arguments on the duty of care and waiver of privilege This Thursday, the Federal Circuit will sit en banc to hear oral argument in In re Seagate Technology LLC, a mandamus case regarding a district court's order to produce certain attorney-client privileged materials. (Update (6/7): the audio of the oral argument is now available online at this link.) Like in many patent cases, one of […] Continue Reading →
Senate to hold its first hearings on Patent Reform Act of 2007 While the House subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee) held hearings on the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908, S. 1145) at the end of April, the Senate is just now getting into the act. On Wednesday, June 6 at 10:00 Eastern time, the full […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit finds disclosure not public use because invention not actually “used” In a decision today, the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's finding of invalidity of two patents based on the public use bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). A product capable of embodying the claimed inventions was disclosed to several individuals, including potential investors, before the critical date of the patents. The court nevertheless found […] Continue Reading →