In a notable legal development, the Fifth Circuit court has given its view on transfer factors in a high-tech Intellectual Property (IP) case. The Federal Circuit, typically tasked with disposing of mandamus petitions that consistently arise from decisions denying transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) in Texas patent litigation, uses the law of the Fifth…
In a noteworthy development for the medical and legal fields alike, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated a willingness to approve a CRISPR-based form of treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia. This signals a potential landmark advancement in the use of genetic engineering methodologies in the treatment of diseases caused by genetic mutations. As…
In a ruling that could have far-reaching implications in patent law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s decision in HIP, Inc. v. Hormel Foods Corp. The controversial ruling, issued on May 2, 2023, found that the plaintiff’s request to have their employee, David Howard, listed as an inventor…
In this era of digital transactions and virtual operations, understanding and complying with the signature requirements of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is of paramount importance. A significant part of this involves making sense of varying types of signatures. These include physical signatures or ‘wet signatures’, ‘s’ signatures such as /John Doe/, generated…
In the present era, talks and headlines featuring Elon Musk’s Tesla are ubiquitous. A notable aspect that reveals a glimpse of the future, in line with the ongoing transition towards carbon-free vehicles, is the increasing appearance of the renowned EV manufacturer in patent litigation dockets countrywide. Interestingly, Tesla is currently embroiled in an ongoing legal…
Welcome to the most recent quarterly update surrounding biologics and biosimilars, with specific focus on post-grant and patent litigation challenges to globally recognized biologics. A note of interest: since the implementation of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA), 43 biosimilars have received approval, with 37 having officially launched. The BPCIA has played a…
In a recent turn of events, opposing patent damages experts faced rough waters in the Ecolab Inc. v. Dubois Chemicals, Inc. case. Judge Andrews of Delaware District Court granted Daubert motions challenging the credibility of the experts and their respective calculations of reasonable royalty opinions. This occurrence underlines the necessity for careful crafting of patent…
In a recent Federal Circuit Patent review, the case of CYNTEC COMPANY, LTD. v. CHILISIN ELECTRONICS CORP., CHILISIN AMERICA LTD. highlighted the need for clarity in legal documentation, particularly from the perspective of the Board. In a reversal of the district court’s judgement as a matter of law (JMOL) of nonobviousness, the case now faces…
In a significant move to ensure fair proceedings, the President of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) issued an order on October 18, 2023, in favor of changing the procedural language from Dutch to English. The detailed account of the order can be explored in this article. The decision comes…
As we wrap up October 2023, a spate of new opinions have emerged from across the country, providing discernible insights into Section 101 patent eligibility. These rulings carry significant implications for legal professionals, particularly patent attorneys, diligently working within law firms or as in-house counsel for multinational corporations. Holland & Knight, LLP provides an excellent…
In a recent decision, Senior Circuit Judge Bryson of the Federal Circuit, who was sitting by designation in the District of Delaware, issued a split verdict on a matter concerning patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Bryson partially granted and partially denied a Rule 12(c)motion for judgment concerning the patents that tackle the issue…
In a major development in patent law, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently upheld a ruling that all challenged claims of IGT’s patent were unpatentable as obvious over two prior art patents. This ruling was part of Zynga Inc. v. IGT, IPR2022-00199-32. It is highly significant because the PTAB, in defiance of IGT’s…
In the case of ABS Global, Inc. v. Cytonome/ST, LLC, No. 2022-1761, 2023 WL 6885009 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 19, 2023), the Federal Circuit has issued a precedential reminder pertaining to patent law vocabulary. Their ruling confirmed that the use of “a” or “an” can be construed to mean “one or more” in an open-ended claim…
The dispute of “Trump too small” trademark reignites a series of First Amendment challenges to the Lanham Act, which prohibits the registration of defamatory or offensive marks. This is the third occurrence following Matal v. Tam and Iancu v. Brunetti, in which marks disparaging Asian Americans and immoral or scandalous marks (“FUCT”), respectively, were contested…
Mintz, a prominent law firm, has announced the recruiting of Y. Jenny Chen to its intellectual property practice. As reported by Bloomberg Law Automation, Chen specifically concentrates her practice in US and international patent prosecution, IP due diligence for transactions, clearance analyses, licensing, opinion work, and post-grant proceedings. Moreover, she offers advising services to manage…
Jason M. Zucchi, a seasoned legal professional specializing in Intellectual Property (IP) law, has recently joined the team of Barnes & Thornburg, Minneapolis. Zucchi now serves as a partner in the firm’s IP department, according to an official announcement made by the firm last Thursday. Zucchi brings robust experience to Barnes & Thornburg primarily in…
Kimberly Moore and fellow jurists from Federal Circuit Court of Appeals continue their determined efforts to oust Judge Pauline Newman, the oldest sitting judge in the nation. Despite a hefty caseload of patent litigation and veterans benefits issues, they are focused on preventing Newman from presiding over—and likely dissenting from—their cases. Bloomberg Law reports that…
In the case of Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple Inc., a significant development unfolded when the Federal Circuit partially approved Apple’s victory before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The case involved Apple’s invalidation of numerous patents owned by Corephotonics. These patents, distinguished as U.S. Patent Nos. 9,661,233, 10,230,898, 10,326,942, and 10,356,332, referred to as…
In a significant legal development reported week ending October 20, 2023, an infringement case capturing widespread attention in the patent law sector was advanced in Cyntec Co. v. Chilisin Electronics Corp., et al., No. 2022-1873 (Fed. Cir. (N.D. Cal.) Oct. 16, 2023). The case, outlined in an article on JD Supra, recounts the dispute in…
In a recent legal ruling, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a district court’s claim construction and jury instructions, but notably reversed a premature judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) on the grounds of obviousness and due to an imprecise damages award. This was the case of Cyntec Company, Ltd….
Genentech, Inc., Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc., and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (collectively, “Genentech”) filed a joint stipulation of dismissal in their BPCIA litigation against Biogen MA Inc. and Bio-Thera Solutions, Ltd., putting an end to a complex legal dispute that began in July 2023. The case was filed in the District of Massachusetts with Genentech alleging that…
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a policy statement indicating its intent to rigorously investigate improper listings in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book, a public record of approved drugs with therapeutic equivalence evaluations. In a move aimed at maintaining the integrity of the Orange Book, the FTC has warned drug…
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) was instated with the aim of protecting US domestic industries from instances of unfair competition from international businesses, often through its ‘unfair import’ or Section 337 evaluations. These investigations have, for several decades, been utilised as a weapon for US businesses in the battle against exploitative trade practices. However,…
In a significant development in the world of patent law, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced a crucial transformation in its operations. The agency’s news briefing in October 2023 shared that the Patent Center system is set to replace the EFS-Web system and the Private Patent Application Information Retrieval (Private PAIR) tool….
Recently, the Federal Circuit tested the weight of the question: “How would an ordinary engineer respond to this challenge?” And found that the reasonable expectation of success might not be quite so intimidating after all. This topic, as once might imagine, has generated considerable discussion among legal professionals. No, we are not referring to the…