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Mealey's Patents

  • August 16, 2019

    Appellant Tells Panel Coca-Cola Beverage Dispenser Infringes Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a recent appellant brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, a patent owner reiterates its position that the “Freestyle” beverage dispenser developed by The Coca-Cola Co. infringes and that a Georgia federal judge erred in finding otherwise (Rothschild Connected Devices Innovations, LLC v. The Coca-Cola Company, No. 19-1825, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 16, 2019

    Panel Hears Facebook Appeal Of Adverse Inter Partes Reviews By Board

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — At oral arguments before the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 7, Facebook Inc. argued against findings of patentability by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in four inter partes reviews (IPRs) of patents relating to online communication, including through a “chat room”-like interface (Facebook Inc. v. Windy City Innovations LLC, No. 18-1400, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 16, 2019

    Sony Tells Panel Patent Board Correctly Construed Term

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An appellant’s effort to “import an extra functional limitation” into the term “reflecting walls” is “too late and too little,” Sony Corp. recently asserted in a brief filed in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Collabo Innovations Inc. v. Sony Corporation, No. 19-1152, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 15, 2019

    Summary Judgment Rulings In Trade Secret, Patent Dispute Affirmed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 14 ruled that a federal district court did not err in dismissing a plaintiff’s trade secret misappropriation and unjust enrichment claims as time-barred pursuant to Ohio’s uniform trade secret law because the plaintiff failed to bring the claim within the necessary statute of limitations period (Josef Maatuk v. Emerson Electric Inc., et al., No. 19-1615, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 24142).

  • August 15, 2019

    Solar Patent Singled Out For Inter Partes Review In New Petition

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A petition for inter partes review filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Aug. 13 asserts that a patented solar-assisted refrigeration system would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art at the time of patenting (SunTrac Solar Manufacturing LLC v. DZSolar Ltd., No. IPR2019-01492, PTAB).

  • August 15, 2019

    Board Sides With Petitioner In Gaming Patent Post-Grant Review

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A recently issued patent covering a method of displaying battle scenes in a computer game recites ineligible subject matter, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled Aug. 14 in adjudicating a petition for post-grant review (PGR) (Supercell Oy v. Gree Inc., No. PGR2018-00029, PTAB).

  • August 14, 2019

    Patent Owner Tells Board Petition Relies On Hindsight Bias

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In an Aug. 9 patent owner response, a pharmaceutical company criticized a recently filed petition for inter partes review (IPR) as “riddled” with hindsight bias in asserting obviousness (Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC v. Almirall LLC, No. IPR2019-00207, PTAB).

  • August 14, 2019

    In Michigan, Dispute Over Patented Heart Monitor Device Stayed

    DETROIT — Citing a patent owner’s failure to file infringement allegations for as long as five years after learning of a competing heart failure monitoring device, a federal judge in Michigan on Aug. 12 stayed the litigation pending the outcome of a related petition for inter partes review (IPR) filed with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Integrated Sensing Systems Inc. v. Abbott Laboratories, et al., No. 19-10041, E.D. Mich., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135208).

  • August 13, 2019

    Panel: Texas Federal Magistrate Judge Correctly Construed Patent Claim

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an Aug. 12 ruling, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a patent owner’s assertion that a stipulated judgment of noninfringement was based upon a Texas federal magistrate judge’s erroneous construction of the term “high quality of service connection” (Iridescent Networks Inc. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, et al., No. 18-1449, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23890).

  • August 12, 2019

    Claim Construed By Patent Board Erroneously, Federal Circuit Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an Aug. 12 holding, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a determination of patent obviousness after finding that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board “conflated” corresponding structure in a patent’s specification “with a structural definition” for the term “mechanical control assembly” (MTD Products Inc. v. Andrei Iancu, Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, No. 17-2292, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 12, 2019

    On High Court Remand, Panel Tells Patent Board To Dismiss Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a per curiam order issued Aug. 9, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals directed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to dismiss a petition for covered business method (CBM) review by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) of a mail processing patent (Return Mail Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service, No. 16-1502, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23755).

  • August 12, 2019

    Panel:  Cease-And-Desist Letters, Sublicense Efforts Confer Jurisdiction

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Virginia federal judge did not err in denying dismissal on the basis of lacking personal jurisdiction in a dispute over a genotype patent that was later declared ineligible for patenting, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 29 in an unsealed decision released Aug. 9 (Genetic Veterinary Sciences Inc. v. LABOKLIN GmbH & Co. KG, et al., No. 18-2056, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23754).

  • August 12, 2019

    Petitioners Tell Board: Patent Owner To Blame For Delay

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Four petitions for inter partes review (IPR) of two wireless communication patents should not be denied on the basis of untimeliness under the America Invents Act (AIA), the petitioners told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Aug. 8, because the patent owner’s “litigation tactics” caused the delay (Kathrein USA Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. v. Fractus S.A., Nos. IPR2019-00944, IPR2019-00945, IPR2019-00946, IPR2019-00947, PTAB).

  • August 12, 2019

    Divided Panel Tells PTO To Terminate Apple Re-Examination Requests

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 1 partly vacated a decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) that Apple Inc. was not barred from pursuing its re-examination requests of two Virnet X Inc. patents, finding that Apple’s validity challenge is barred by estoppel (VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc., Nos. 2017-1591, -1592, -1593, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 22912).

  • August 9, 2019

    Panel Lifts Stay, Reaffirms That Drug Patents Are Invalid

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A per curiam panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 7 reversed a New Jersey federal judge’s determination that two patents relating to the painkiller “Vimovo” are valid (Nuvo Pharmaceuticals v. Lupin Ltd., et al., Nos. 17--2487, -2488, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23559).

  • August 8, 2019

    Federal Circuit Affirms Trade Commission In E. Coli Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 upheld a determination by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that two strains of Escherichia coli bacteria imported into the United States infringe a valid patent (Ajinomoto Co. Inc., et al..v. International Trade Commission, et al., Nos. 2018-1590, -1629, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23435).

  • August 7, 2019

    Panel Finds Keyboard Shortcut Patents Valid, But Not Infringed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 6 found that although a California federal judge did not err in finding two patents not infringed, a patent owner was entitled to judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that one of the patents is not invalid (ATEN International Co. Ltd. v. Uniclass Technology Co., et al., No. 18-1606, Fed. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 23432).

  • August 2, 2019

    Appellant Levies New Criticism At Damages Calculation In Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a July 15 reply brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the maker of an infringing cochlear implant argues that failure by a damages expert for a patent owner and its licensee to value certain commercially valuable features of the accused products is “catastrophic” and requires vacatur of a jury’s $134 million award, later doubled to more than $268 million (Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research, et al. v. Cochlear Corp., et al., No. 19-1201, Fed. Cir.).

  • August 2, 2019

    Appellant Tells Federal Circuit: Waste Fragmenting, Spraying Patent Obvious

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two companies that failed to persuade the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that a material processing patent would have been anticipated or obvious to a person of skill in the art maintain in a July 19 appellant brief filed with the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals July 19 that the board decision was premised on claim constructions that were unduly narrow (Bandit Industries Inc., et al. v. St. Martin Investments Inc., No. 19-1694, Fed. Cir.).

  • July 31, 2019

    Patent Owner Seeks Rehearing Of Board Institution Decision

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A July 16 decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that instituted inter partes review of a patent relating to upconverted content display overlooked key arguments relating to prior art, the patent owner told the board in a July 30 request for rehearing (Unified Patents Inc. v. MV3 Partners LLC, No. IPR2019-00474, PTAB).