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 →
Federal Circuit panel splits on inherency case In a second appeal involving patents relating to the original "Purple Pill®," a panel of the Federal Circuit split on whether an earlier patent application by a Korean company inherently anticipated one of AstraZeneca's patents covering the popular heartburn medication Prilosec® (omeprazole). The panel majority held that a process disclosed in a Korean patent application […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit Puts the Brakes on District Court’s Claim Construction The Federal Circuit today issued a fairly routine claim construction decision, vacating part of the district court's claim construction and remanding. The Court also affirmed the district court's decision to deny Rule 11 sanctions (applying Ninth Circuit law). More details of the case after the jump. Intamin Ltd. sued Magnetar Technologies Corp. for infringement of […] 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 →
Patent Examiner groups air their grievances In an open letter to the heads of the United States, European, Canadian, German, and Austrian patent offices, an international coalition of patent examiner groups seeks changes in the demands on patent examiners, stating that the increase in productivity demands and the number of applications to be examined, combined with the increased complexity of applications […] 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 →