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Mealey's Patents

  • August 12, 2022

    HP Petition Rejected By Panel; Patent Case Will Stay In Texas

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 9 turned away a bid for mandamus in which Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) challenged a Texas federal judge’s refusal to transfer a patent dispute to Massachusetts federal court.

  • August 12, 2022

    Federal Circuit Stands By Estoppel Holding On Remand From High Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even under new limitations on assignor estoppel recently established by the U.S Supreme Court, an infringement defendant is estopped from challenging the validity of an endometrial ablation patent because claim 1 of the patent is not “materially broader” than the claims that were assigned, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 11.

  • August 11, 2022

    Petitioner Says Well Drilling Patent Recites Abstract Idea, Is Obvious

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A system and method of drilling a well is directed to the abstract idea of selecting an optimal convergence path using standard criteria any person of skill in the art would consider when designing a well path, a petitioner for post-grant review (PGR) told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Aug. 8.

  • August 10, 2022

    Method Of Using Existing Herbicide Not New, Petitioner Says

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an Aug. 8 petition for post-grant review (PGR) filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, a crop protection company seeks cancellation of various claims of a Bayer Cropscience LP patent relating to the herbicide indaziflam on grounds of inadequate written description and anticipation.

  • August 10, 2022

    Apple To Board: Cancel All Claims Of Smart Watch Patent

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Citing several prior art references, Apple Inc. on Aug. 9 told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that a patented smart watch capable of receiving wireless signals from a mobile phone would be obvious to a person of skill in the art.

  • August 09, 2022

    Federal Circuit Agrees That Artificial Intelligence Cannot Be Inventor

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) correctly denied two patent applications on the basis that the applicant failed to list a human inventor, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 5, in a blow to the artificial intelligence industry.

  • August 08, 2022

    Federal Circuit Affirms Smart Watch Tech Is Ineligible For Patenting

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an Aug. 5 summary ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld findings by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that a single claim of a patent directed to activity monitoring is ineligible for patenting or anticipated by prior art.

  • August 05, 2022

    Hormel: Inventorship Of Method For Precooked Bacon Is Correct

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Delaware misapplied the law in determining that an appellee qualifies as a co-inventor of a patented method for precooked bacon, Hormel Foods Corp. told the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals July 18.

  • August 04, 2022

    Washington Federal Judge Orders Copyright, Patent Plaintiff To Brief Standing

    SEATTLE — Instead of ruling on a pending motion for default judgment and permanent injunction, a federal judge in Washington on Aug. 2 directed a plaintiff to file a supplemental brief regarding its standing to pursue patent and copyright infringement allegations against a competitor.

  • August 04, 2022

    Owner Of Patented Lottery Betting System Defends Tech On Appeal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a July 25 appellant brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a company that specializes in prepaid gift card technology asserts that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly declared its patent obvious because the cited prior art “discloses a fundamentally different paradigm.”

  • August 03, 2022

    Samsung, Google Take Aim At Priority Chain In New Patent Petition

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an Aug. 2 petition for inter partes review (IPR) filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics America Inc. and Google LLC (Samsung, collectively) say a broken priority chain of a patent directed to geographically focused content delivery represents a “compelling case of obviousness.”

  • August 03, 2022

    7th Circuit Unmoved By Complaint Drug Company Acquired ‘Patent Thicket’

    CHICAGO — Dismissal by an Illinois federal judge of allegations that AbbVie Inc. violated antitrust law in connection with the blockbuster drug Humira was affirmed Aug. 1 by the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which asked, “What’s wrong with having lots of patents?”

  • August 03, 2022

    Samsung Bid To Cancel Patent Claims Fails Before Federal Circuit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 2 refused to disturb findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that five claims of a magnetic stripe emulator patent were not proven obvious by inter partes review (IPR) petitioner Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and two affiliates.

  • August 01, 2022

    In Win For Cruise Line, Recommendation, Claim Constructions Adopted

    MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida on July 27 agreed with a federal magistrate judge that a plaintiff who seeks a declaration that three Carnival Corp. patents are not infringed or enforceable is not entitled to summary judgment.

  • August 01, 2022

    Claims Court Stays Longstanding Dispute Over Surveillance Patents

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A request by the United States to stay patent proceedings while a third party seeks ex parte re-examination of the technology at issue was granted July 27 by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

  • August 01, 2022

    Panel:  Patent Verdict Against Amazon Not Supported By Evidence

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Texas federal judge should have granted a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) by Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon.com LLC, on allegations of induced infringement of a patented method for enhancing acoustics while suppressing ambient noise, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 28.

  • July 29, 2022

    Decision Granting Fees In Part And Denying Fees In Part Affirmed By Panel

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California did not abuse his discretion in awarding Netflix Inc. and Netflix Streaming Services Inc. attorney fees incurred in connection with a patent owner’s decision to file suit there immediately after voluntarily dismissing a related action in Delaware, before the Delaware judge could rule on a magistrate judge’s recommendation that four of the six patents at issue are ineligible for patenting, a divided Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 27.

  • July 29, 2022

    GE Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim Rejected In Massachusetts Patent Dispute

    BOSTON — Following a trial, a federal judge in Massachusetts on July 27 ruled in favor of a patent owner accused by General Electric Co. (GE) of engaging in inequitable conduct before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office while obtaining its patents relating to wind turbine technology.

  • July 27, 2022

    Patent Owner: Subject Matter Not Surrendered During Prosecution

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a July 18 brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a patent owner says a North Carolina federal judge wrongly found clear and unmistakable surrender of subject matter while construing various disputed claim terms in an infringement dispute.

  • July 26, 2022

    In Inflatable Mattress Patent Row, Federal Circuit Affirms Board

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 25 rejected competing appeals of inter partes review (IPR) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board with regard to a patented valve assembly for use with an inflatable air mattress.