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Intellectual Property

  • Top Story

    3 Takeaways From Delaware's TC Heartland Venue Guidance

    The District of Delaware's chief judge recently held in two rulings that companies must have permanent ties to the state to face patent suits there following the U.S. Supreme Court's TC Heartland ruling, and his analysis could keep many generic-drug cases in his court. Here's what attorneys can learn from the decisions.

  • September 20, 2017

    Patent For Cholesterol Drug Livalo Is Valid, Judge Rules

    Japanese drugmaker Kowa Co. Ltd. won a patent infringement trial against Amneal and Apotex on Wednesday when a New York federal judge delivered the verdict that Kowa’s patent for the statin Livalo was valid and that the defendants were not able to show it was anticipated or obvious.

  • September 20, 2017

    Pathogen-Killer Claims Unfair, Medical Co. CEO Testifies

    Medical garment maker Vestagen Protective Technologies has gained an unfair market advantage by making false and unlawful claims that its products kill 99 percent of all pathogens, the CEO for rival Strategic Partners testified Wednesday in a California federal trial where his company is defending against theft of trade secret claims.

  • September 20, 2017

    Mass. Justices Take Up Insurance Row Over Shoemaker's TM

    Massachusetts' highest court has agreed to review a lower court's ruling that a pair of insurers can't recoup sums they paid to defend Vibram USA Inc. against a suit alleging the company unlawfully obtained a trademark for a shoe named after the late Olympic marathon champion Abebe Bikila in a case that raises multiple issues of first impression under state law.

  • September 20, 2017

    New Group Aims To Protect American IP In Trade Deals

    Trade associations from the entertainment, art, medical and technology industries announced a new partnership Tuesday with a mission to advance creativity and innovation while facing the challenge of enforcing their intellectual property internationally.

  • September 20, 2017

    PTAB Erred In Communication Patent Ruling, Fed. Circ. Says

    The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling that NFC Technology failed to show the inventor of a near-field communication device had created a prototype that rendered a patent obvious, saying the decision lacked substantial evidence.

  • September 20, 2017

    Gore Can't Slip Invalidity Verdict In Stent Patent Row

    A Delaware federal judge on Wednesday denied W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.’s bid to toss a jury’s finding that Gore’s patent relating to a stent device, which Gore had unsuccessfully alleged was infringed by C.R. Bard Inc., is invalid over prior art.

  • September 20, 2017

    5 Ideas From Judge Michel For Tackling Patent ‘Crisis’

    After telling Congress in July that the patent system is in “crisis mode,” former Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel has offered lawmakers numerous ideas on how to respond. From overhauling America Invents Act reviews to better defining eligibility rules, here’s a look at the judge’s legislative proposals.

  • September 20, 2017

    You Can Send A Cease-And-Desist And Not Be Jerk About It

    In-house lawyers at Netflix won the company praise this week with a charming cease-and-desist letter they sent to an unauthorized “Stranger Things”-themed pop-up bar, reminding trademark attorneys everywhere that doom-and-gloom boilerplate isn’t always the right approach.

  • September 20, 2017

    Waymo Pegs Uber Trade Secret Theft Harm At $2.6B

    Amid revelations on Wednesday that a Waymo-commissioned expert report estimated damages caused by Uber’s alleged trade secret theft at $2.6 billion, U.S. District Judge William Alsup accused the Alphabet spinoff of crying “crocodile tears” in seeking to delay trial over the purported theft of self-driving car technology.

  • September 20, 2017

    Cislo & Thomas Adds 5 IP Attys, Opens 2 Calif. Offices

    Intellectual property boutique Cislo & Thomas LLP has expanded its attorney ranks and its California footprint, adding five partners previously with Leech Tishman LLP as it opens two new offices in the state.

  • September 20, 2017

    PTAB Finds Wireless Patent Challenged By Arris, HP Invalid

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Wednesday nixed a Mobile Telecommunications Technologies LLC wireless communications patent that the company had accused numerous tech giants of infringing, finding that it was obvious as anticipated over prior art.

  • September 20, 2017

    CUT Method No Slam Dunk Despite Amazon, Medtronic Wins

    The U.S. Tax Court's decided preference for the comparable uncontrolled transaction method, as shown most recently in transfer-pricing victories for Amazon and Medtronic, may not necessarily increase the method's popularity among taxpayers, experts say.

  • September 20, 2017

    Mel Gibson Film's Director Claims Movie Co. Infringed His IP

    The screenwriter and director of "The Professor and the Madman," starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn, sued a Hollywood production company in California federal court Tuesday, claiming the Academy Award-winning company willfully infringed his copyrights to the film's screenplay and defamed him.

  • September 20, 2017

    4 Reasons Boston Can Be A Great Place For Patent Cases

    The District of Massachusetts is already among the busier venues for patent litigation, but Boston-based attorneys believe the district offers advantages that could attract even more cases. From science-savvy jurors to hardworking judges, Law360 looks at the factors that make Boston an appealing patent venue.

  • September 20, 2017

    Winery Escapes Trademark Suit From Bourbon Maker

    A California federal judge on Tuesday delivered a verdict in favor of winemaker Fetzer Vineyards after it was sued for trademark infringement by bourbon maker Sazerac Co. Inc. over the use of a buffalo-themed product, saying that Sazerac had provided almost no backing for the claim that buyers would be confused.

  • September 20, 2017

    FDA Cherry-Picking Record In Sensipar Case, Amgen Says

    Amgen Inc. accused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Wednesday of limiting evidence in the company’s exclusivity bid for blockbuster calcium-control drug Sensipar, prompting a D.C. federal judge to ask that the parties privately solve the stalemate before the case goes forward.

  • September 20, 2017

    $146M Deal In Aggrenox Pay-For-Delay MDL Gets Initial OK

    A Connecticut federal judge on Tuesday preliminarily approved a $146 million settlement between direct purchasers and pharmaceutical companies over the drugmakers’ alleged role in a scheme to block generic alternatives to the stroke-prevention drug Aggrenox from coming on the market.

  • September 19, 2017

    Fed Circ. Asked To Nix Finjan Cybersecurity Patents

    Blue Coat Systems Inc. and Palo Alto Networks Inc. asked the Federal Circuit to rethink a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling upholding a Finjan Inc. malware detection patent asserted against them, arguing that it had misinterpreted prior art.

  • September 19, 2017

    Maine Lab Accuses Chinese University Of Selling Its Mice

    One of the world’s largest breeders of mice for medical research asked a Maine federal judge on Monday to force arbitration against one of China’s most prestigious universities, accusing it of ripping off its costly research by breeding its mice and selling them for just a fraction of the cost.

  • September 19, 2017

    Warner Chilcott Seeks Out Of Asacol Antitrust Suit

    Allergan subsidiary Warner Chilcott has told a Massachusetts federal court that pulling its Asacol ulcerative colitis drug off the market pursuant to a federal safety order can’t be considered anti-competitive conduct, urging the court to grant it a quick win in an antitrust lawsuit.

Expert Analysis

  • How To Give Patent Clients A 'Get Out Of Texas' Card

    Jeremy Elman

    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent patent venue decision in TC Heartland, companies should take a fresh look at the Eastern District of Texas to put an end to forum shopping there, say Jeremy Elman and Robert Mallard of Dorsey & Whitney LLP​.

  • 'Per-Doc' Pricing Can Improve Document Review

    file folder

    Imagine going to a restaurant and ordering your steak medium-rare. The steak arrives burned. You expect the kitchen to bring you another one properly done, right? And you don’t expect to pay for two steaks, do you? Paying a vendor for document review should be no different, says Lisa Prowse, an attorney and vice president at e-discovery firm BIA Inc.

  • A Review Of Willfulness Findings In Hatch-Waxman Actions

    Brian Coggio

    Federal Circuit cases interpreting Halo will likely increase awards of attorney fees and thus portend an increase in allegations of willful infringement in Hatch-Waxman actions. The present standard for finding willful infringement in Hatch-Waxman actions is somewhat uncertain, say Brian Coggio and Ron Vogel of Fish & Richardson PC.

  • Are PTAB Precedential Opinions Really Binding?

    Richard Torczon

    The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Snyder v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs raises the question of whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has met the requirements for using adjudicative decisions as precedent, says Richard Torczon, of counsel at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC and a former Patent Trial and Appeal Board judge.

  • Finding Eligible Subject Matter For Business Methods

    Matthew Grady

    Although software and business method patents have recently come under fire, there are valid approaches to successfully preparing and prosecuting these applications in the current environment, say Matthew Grady and Ed Russavage of Wolf Greenfield & Sacks PC.

  • 5 Thoughts On 5 Years Of Inter Partes Review

    Gene Lee

    Over the five years since inter partes review came into effect, it has made the Patent Trial and Appeal Board the most popular venue for litigating patent disputes. It is worthwhile to ask whether IPRs are achieving their intended policy goals and at what cost their popularity comes, say Gene Lee and Danielle Grant-Keane of Perkins Coie LLP.

  • Tips For Drafting Patents That Won't Need Alice Step 2

    Phillip Articola

    Based on three cases in which the Federal Circuit has found software-related claims to recite patent-eligible subject matter, a patent application drafter can improve the chances that claims pass muster under step one of the Alice two-step patent-eligibility test, thereby not requiring an analysis under step two, says Phillip Articola of Banner & Witcoff Ltd.

  • A Guide To The Executive Branch Official Nomination Process

    Adam Raviv

    Although the Trump administration has completed the vetting and confirmation of a cabinet and White House staff, thousands of senior positions remain unfilled throughout the executive branch. More than ever, people selected for those posts find themselves under close scrutiny, say Adam Raviv and Reginald Brown of WilmerHale.

  • PTAB At 5: Part 4 — At The Intersection Of PTAB And Courts

    Michael Specht

    Whether the 5-year-old Patent Trial and Appeal Board can achieve its lofty goals — providing a quick, inexpensive and reliable alternative to challenging patent validity — rests largely in the ability of counsel to effectively navigate the intersection of PTAB and district court jurisdiction, say Michael Specht and Jonathan Tuminaro of Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC.

  • Some Clarity On Surname Trademarks From USPTO

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    Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office changed its policies and procedures for marks composed of a surname and an additional term. It seems that there are better odds in obtaining a registration for a surname mark with a broad descriptive term rather than a surname with a “merely descriptive” term, says Davide Schiavetti of Rothwell Figg Ernst & Manbeck PC.