The sovereign – that is the government or government owned entities – are immune from lawsuit by the Eleventh Amendment. Thus, the United States government, state government, or a state-owned university are protected from legal action, including a lawsuit for patent infringement. Universities that are state owned thus can proceed with their research without concern […]
Continue Reading →As previously discussed on this blog (Copyright Office Establishes New Electronic DMCA Agent Registration), the U.S. Copyright Office has recently enacted changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) safe harbor registration process. As part of the new system, the Copyright Office is requiring any service provider that designated an agent in the old paper-based […]
Continue Reading →On Thursday, October 19, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Lufthansa Technik Ag v. Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems Corp., an appeal which arose from a patent infringement suit brought in the Western District of Washington. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant—Astronics Corp., finding all claims of U.S. Patent […]
Continue Reading →On October 18, the Federal Circuit again examined the existing bounds of the patentability of abstract ideas. InSmart Systems Innovations (SSI) v. Chicago Transit Authority, the Federal Circuit determined that SSI’s four patents claimed an abstract idea and were invalid. SSI’s patents were directed to a fare collection system for mass transit (e.g. bus, train, […]
Continue Reading →In an en banc decision on October 4, 2017, the Federal Circuit made it easier to amend patents during AIA proceedings. However, in reaching this decision, the Federal Circuit raised questions as to whether Chevron deference would apply to the USPTO’s rules made without following a formal rule-making process. During an inter partes review proceeding, […]
Continue Reading →Can you use of a piece of fabric no bigger than a fingernail to constitute a trademark infringement? Levi’s appears to think so. Late last month, Levi Strauss & Co. filed a federal lawsuit in San Francisco against Vineyard Vines, LLC alleging the clothing company has been infringing Levi’s trademark rights by sewing a small […]
Continue Reading →In a decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals last week, In re Smith International, Inc., the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“the Board”) decision affirming the Examiner’s rejections of some claims in an ex parte reexamination. The invention is directed to a downhole drilling tool for oil and gas […]
Continue Reading →In a recent decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, In re Stepan Company, the Federal Circuit reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision to affirm an examiner’s rejection that claims were obvious. The claims in the application were directed to ultra-high load, aqueous glyphosate salt-containing concentrates comprising water, a glyphosate salt in […]
Continue Reading →Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit decided Intercontinental Great Brands LLC (Kraft), v. Kellog Co., an appeal which arose from a patent infringement suit brought in the Northern District of Illinois. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant—Kellog, finding every claim of U.S. Patent No. 6,918,532 (the ‘532 patent) to be obvious […]
Continue Reading →In a 3-0 ruling, a federal appeals court sided with Disney, Warner Bros., and Twentieth Century Fox by affirming an injunction that shut down movie filtering service VidAngel, Inc., saying that a ruling to the contrary would “create a giant loophole in copyright law”. VidAngel is a video filtering service that lets users stream films […]
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