Mealey's Patents
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July 19, 2023
In Longstanding Patent Row, Request To Continue Trial Granted In Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS — A federal judge in Indiana has put the brakes on a planned August 2023 patent trial because of the unavailability of a defendant’s newly hired counsel and her finding that the complex nature of the case warrants granting a continuance.
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July 18, 2023
Federal Circuit Affirms: Poll-Based Networking Tech Ineligible For Patenting
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California did not err in dismissing allegations of infringement leveled in connection with two patents directed to methods and systems for connecting users based on their answers to polling questions, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 17.
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July 18, 2023
Panel: Interferences Not Applicable To Patents With Post-2013 Priority Dates
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that patents that were filed under the newer first-inventor-to-file standard for determining priority cannot be subject to interference proceedings reserved for applications governed by the first-to-invent system.
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July 17, 2023
Gilead/Teva HIV Drug Patent Settlement Wasn’t Reverse Payment, Jury Finds
SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal jury has found that third-party payers and health insurers did not prove that an HIV patent settlement between Gilead Sciences Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. violated the federal antitrust law by including a reverse payment under which Teva delayed making and selling generic versions of the drugs Truvada and Atripla.
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July 14, 2023
Patent, Copyright, False Advertising Claims Won’t Proceed In Utah Dispute
SALT LAKE CITY — A lawsuit by two companies that assert a variety of intellectual property-related claims against a competitor and former employee was trimmed substantially by a federal judge in Utah at the summary judgment stage.
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July 14, 2023
Virginia Federal Judge Dismisses Challenge To Fintiv Instructions
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has secured dismissal of a Virginia federal lawsuit in which two plaintiffs challenged reliance by the agency’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board on a set of nonexclusive factors for determining whether to institute post-grant review (PGR) of recently issued patents in the face of related parallel district court litigation.
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July 13, 2023
Lawsuit Against USPTO Tossed On Standing Grounds By D.C. Federal Judge
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Allegations the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and its director must engage in formal rulemaking over the criteria used for deciding when to institute inter partes review (IPR) and post grant review (PGR) will not be reached by a District of Columbia federal judge, who found July 12 that the challenge fails for lack of standing.
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July 12, 2023
Federal Circuit: Rejection Of Reissue Patent Claims Was Not Erroneous
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board upholding an examiner’s rejection of various claims associated with an application to reissue a patented float apparatus for a grill were upheld July 12 by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
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July 11, 2023
Federal Circuit Sends Challenge Of Medtronic Patents Back To Board
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly rejecting in full an inter partes review (IPR) petitioner’s claim that two Medtronic Inc. neurostimulation patents are obvious, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 10.
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July 11, 2023
In New Petition For Review, Utensil Patent Challenged As Obvious
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Citing the “countless known advantages” associated with a utensil that combines the functions of a knife, fork and spoon “in a single structure,” such as the “spork,” a manufacturer of camping and other outdoor products on June 10 urged the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to cancel all 23 claims of an eating utensil system patent.
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July 11, 2023
Expert Testimony At Patent Trial Should Have Been Excluded, Appellant Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute over electronic drums and cymbals, an appellant tells the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a federal judge in Florida “abandoned its gatekeeping role and left for the jury to determine” whether an expert for a patent owner based his opinion of literal infringement on the wrong standard.
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July 11, 2023
Board Erred In Review Of Solar Cell Assembly Patent, Owner Asserts
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a recent appellant brief, a Singapore company tells the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board exceeded its authority when finding various claims of a patented solar cell assembly obvious under a theory never raised by a petitioner for inter partes review (IPR).
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July 11, 2023
Judge Seals AI Bus Lane Obstruction Patent Dispute Filings
NEW YORK — A federal judge granted a motion to seal, directing the defendants in a patent infringement case to seal original documents in a case alleging infringement of patents on artificial intelligence technology designed to identify bus lane obstructions. A motion seeking a preliminary injunction is pending.
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July 03, 2023
Video Embedding Patent Claims Are Obvious, Federal Circuit Affirms
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In its second ruling in the case, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on June 30 said substantial evidence supports findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that five apparatus claims of a video embedding patent would be obvious to a person of skill in the art.
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July 07, 2023
In Delaware Patent Row, Plaintiff Granted Leave To Bolster Eligibility Claim
WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal magistrate judge in Delaware on July 6 granted a plaintiff leave to amend its complaint in order to further defend the eligibility of two patents, on the heels of a decision that said the technology is directed to the abstract idea of “synchronizing multiple versions” of a file “across network computers.”
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July 06, 2023
Patent Owner Notifies Board It Will Appeal Inter Partes Review
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Recent findings by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that Apple Inc. should prevail in its challenge of a patented wireless charging and communication device will be reviewed by the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the patent owner has informed the board.
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July 05, 2023
In Dispute Over DNA Sorting Technology, Res Judicata Findings Reversed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Wisconsin federal judge’s rejection of induced infringement allegations leveled over a patented method of sorting bull sperm cells for the production and sale of “sexed semen straws” was based upon an erroneous interpretation of an earlier judgment entered against the defendant, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled July 5.
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July 03, 2023
Intel Petitions Board For Cancellation Of ‘Header Repetition’ Patent Claims
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — In a July 3 request for inter partes review (IPR), Intel Corp. tells the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that a patent relating to methods and systems for header repetition in a communications environment would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art (POSITA) in 2009.
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July 03, 2023
Longstanding Test For Design Patent Obviousness To Be Addressed En Banc
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said June 30 that it will rehear, en banc, a patent dispute between a licensor and former licensee and invited the solicitor general to weigh in on the continued viability of the test for design patent obviousness, which has been in place for decades.
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June 30, 2023
Refusal By Patent Board Of Amended Claims Upheld By Federal Circuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bid by a patent owner to substitute nine claims of a botulinum toxin patent following adverse post-grant review (PGR) proceedings was properly rejected by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found.
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June 30, 2023
Intel Can’t Persuade Federal Circuit To Undo Patentability Holding
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s holding that seven claims of a power supply patent were not proven unpatentable by inter partes review (IPR) petitioner Intel Corp. is supported by substantial evidence, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.
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June 30, 2023
Patent Dispute Over Tool Used In Oil, Gas Drilling Industry Partly Reinstated
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that although a Texas federal judge correctly construed two disputed claim terms, his subsequent finding of noninfringement with regard to a patented tool and method for moving oil and gas drilling pipes must be reversed, in part.
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June 28, 2023
Panel Says Texas Federal Judge Did Not Abuse Discretion In Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a June 27 order said that a dispute over eight Wi-Fi patents will remain in the Waco Division of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Texas (WDTX).
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June 27, 2023
Google To Federal Circuit: Patent Board Failed To Fully Consider Petition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly upheld as patentable some claims of a patented thermostatic HVAC control system, Google LLC maintains in a new appeal.
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June 26, 2023
High Court Follows Solicitor General Recommendation, Denies Cert In Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the heels of a recent amicus curiae brief by the U.S. solicitor general stating that a dispute over three coding patents is not certiorari worthy, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 refused to weigh in on the case.