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Mealey's Patents

  • December 7, 2018

    Dismissal Of Texas Patent Declaratory Judgment Action Reversed By Panel

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 7 found that a patent owner is subject to personal jurisdiction in the Northern District of Texas, where several plaintiffs seek a declaration of noninfringement (Jack Henry & Associates Inc., et al. v. Plano Encryption Technologies LLC, No. 16-2700, Fed. Cir.).

  • December 7, 2018

    Travel Websites Seek Inter Partes Review Of IBM Computing Patent

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. —The operators of several travel websites on Dec. 6 requested institution of inter partes review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of an International Business Machines patent directed to a method of providing users with a single-sign-on in a federated computing environment (Expedia Inc., et al. v. International Business Machines Corp., No. IPR2019-00404, PTAB).

  • December 5, 2018

    Apple Successfully Petitions Board For Inter Partes Review

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Dec. 4 instituted inter partes review (IPR) of a patent directed to a camera lens assembly (Apple Inc. v. Corephotonics Ltd., No. IPR2018-01140, PTAB).

  • December 5, 2018

    Bench Trial Planned In Massachusetts To Decide Patent Inventorship

    BOSTON — Citing the existence of genuine disputes of material fact, a Massachusetts federal judge on Dec. 3 denied a request for partial summary judgment on the question of patent inventorship, reserving the issue for a bench trial slated to begin Jan. 2 (Egenera Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc., No. 16-11613, D. Mass., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204092).

  • December 4, 2018

    On-Sale Bar Debated In Oral Arguments Before Supreme Court

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Counsel for the owner of a patented drug for reducing nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy told the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4 that its private licensing agreement with a distributor did not constitute a sale for purposes of triggering the on-sale bar under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) (Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., et al., No. 17-1229, U.S. Sup.).

  • December 4, 2018

    BMW Mandamus Request Denied, Without Prejudice, By Federal Circuit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Nov. 29 mandamus petition seeking reversal of a decision by U.S. Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas that denied dismissal of a patent case for improper venue was itself denied Nov. 30 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (In re: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and BMW of North America LLC, No. 19-108, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 33970).

  • December 4, 2018

    Divided Federal Circuit Upholds $140 Million Award In Patent Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Kansas federal judge’s decision to uphold a jury’s $140 million award on behalf of patent owner Sprint Communications Co. L.P. was affirmed Nov. 30 by a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Sprint Communications Company L.P. v. Time Warner Cable Inc., et al., No. 17-2247, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 33594).

  • November 30, 2018

    Government To Intervene Before Federal Circuit In Tarceva Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 14 agreed to allow the United States to weigh in on a constitutional challenge to the Leahy Smith America Invents Act, Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011), in which an appellant alleges that inter partes review (IPR) should be disallowed for patents issued before the statute’s passage (OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC v. Apotex Inc., et al., No. 18-1925, Fed. Cir.).

  • November 29, 2018

    Patent Owner: In Final Written Decision, Board Changed Claim Construction

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Nov. 27 motion for rehearing, a patent owner tells the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that it impermissibly altered its construction of corresponding structure for a communication module limitation in a wireless internet patent between its decision to institute inter partes review (IPR) and its final written decision (T-Mobile USA Inc. v. Barkan Wireless Access Technologies L.P., No. IPR2017-01099, PTAB).

  • November 29, 2018

    Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Declaratory Judgment Patent Action

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 29 holding, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a Tennessee federal judge that an action seeking a declaration of noninfringement must be dismissed where the patent owner has not sought to enforce its patents in that forum (Maxchief Investments Limited v. Wok & Pan Industries Inc., No. 18-1121, Fed. Cir.).

  • November 28, 2018

    Software Company Seeks Rehearing Of Institution Decision By Patent Board

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — On Nov. 21, a patent owner moved the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to rehear its decision to institute inter partes review in response to a petition by Apple Inc. (Apple Inc. v. Agis Software Development LLC, No. IPR2018-00819, PTAB).

  • November 28, 2018

    Food Preparation App Firm Must Provide Source Code In Patent Infringement Case

    TACOMA, Wash. — A company that sells apps and Bluetooth-enabled products for home food preparation was ordered to provide the source code for its products on Nov. 26, with a Washington federal judge deeming the code relevant to patent infringement claims brought by a rival company in granting in part a motion to compel (Perfect Co. v. Adaptics Limited, No. 3:14-cv-05976, W.D. Wash., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199728).

  • November 27, 2018

    Parties Square Off Before Federal Circuit In Suboxone Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a recent reply brief, the owners of a patent covering Suboxone in sublingual film form tell the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a Delaware federal judge erred in finding that inventors disavowed any particular drying method (Indivior Inc., et al. v. Alvogen Pine Brook LLC, No. 18-1949, Fed. Cir.).

  • November 27, 2018

    Patent Board Sides With Intel In Final Written Decision

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A claimed system and method for accelerating data transfer between a network and storage unit would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art (POSITA), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled Nov. 26 in a win for Intel Corp. (Intel Corp. v. Alacritech Inc., No. IPR2017-01392, PTAB).

  • November 27, 2018

    Denial By ITC Of Petition To Rescind, Modify Civil Penalty Reversed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A refusal by the International Trade Commission (ITC) to modify or rescind its assessment of a $6.2 million civil penalty for violating a consent order involving a patent later declared invalid was reversed and remanded Nov. 27 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (DBN Holding Inc. and BDN LLC v. International Trade Commission, No. 17-2128, Fed. Cir.).

  • November 27, 2018

    BMW Petition For Inter Partes Review Rejected By Board

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a Nov. 26 ruling, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that BMW of North America LLC failed to establish that it will likely prevail on its assertion that five claims of an audio device integration system patent would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art (BMW of North America LLC v. Blitzsafe of Texas LLC, No. IPR2018-01204, PTAB).

  • November 21, 2018

    Federal Circuit Vacates Finding That ADHD Drug Patents Are Invalid

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Nov. 20 ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that a Delaware federal judge’s determination of patent invalidity with regard to five patents covering an attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) drug was based upon “inadequate” fact finding (Tris Pharma Inc. v. Actavis Laboratories Inc., Nos. 2017-2557, -2559, -2560, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 32774).

  • November 20, 2018

    Federal Circuit Affirms: Patents Not Anticipated, But Damage Award Excessive

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 19 found that “although a close question,” a California federal judge did not err in denying a defendant judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) with regard to induced patent infringement (Enplas Display Device Corporation v. Seoul Semiconductor Company, No. 16-2599, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 32625).

  • November 20, 2018

    Citing SAS, Federal Circuit Partly Vacates, Remands To Patent Board

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Palo Alto Networks Inc. on Nov. 19 partly prevailed before the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in its consolidated appeal of two inter partes reviews (IPRs) by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Palo Alto Networks Inc. v. Finjan Inc., Nos. 2017-2314, -2315, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 32624).

  • November 19, 2018

    Mixer ‘Splash Shield’ Patent Not Obvious, Federal Circuit Affirms

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that confirmed the patentability of a claimed rinseable “splash shield” for mixers and blenders was affirmed Nov. 16 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. v. f’real! Foods LLC, No. 18-1274, Fed. Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 32432).