In Sawstop Holding LLC v. Vidal the Federal Circuit confirmed what many practitioners suspected— the Patent and Trademark Office will only award a patent term adjustment to offset a delay caused by appellate review of a patent prosecution if the appeal results in allowable claims ready for issuance.
Continue Reading Is an Appeal Time Well-Spent? For Patents, That Depends . . .
PTAB
When (Patent) Success Isn’t Obvious
By Patrick Niedermeier & Baldassare Vinti on
In Univ. of Strathclyde v. Clear-Vu Lighting LLC, the Federal Circuit grappled with the issue of whether claims directed to methods and systems for inactivating bacteria using blue light were obvious in view of a prior art combination that taught the claimed elements but lacked an indication of success. Ultimately, the Federal Circuit found that the patent’s success where the prior art failed – inactivation of the bacteria without a photosensitizer did not support a finding of obviousness.
Continue Reading When (Patent) Success Isn’t Obvious
Arbitration Clause Not Binding on the United States Patent Office
By Stephanie A. Diehl & Baldassare Vinti on
The Federal Circuit’s recent ruling in MaxPower Semiconductor Inc. et al v. Rohm Semiconductor USA, LLC highlights the interplay between the liberal federal policy favoring arbitration agreements and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) authority as an agency tribunal having a broad role to protect the public interest in ensuring the quality of patents.
Challenging the validity of a patent through the inter partes review (IPR) process at the PTAB is a conventional alternative to litigating invalidity in federal court. MaxPower addressed the question of whether the PTAB will defer to an agreement to arbitrate that did not expressly preclude the parties from proceeding before the PTAB.
Continue Reading Arbitration Clause Not Binding on the United States Patent Office
Calls for USPTO to Adopt Policies to Modulate Drug Pricing
By Christine G. Espino on
In the wake of the nomination of Kathi Vidal as Director of the USPTO, there will be significant attention paid to the agency’s responses to calls from both the executive and legislative branches to remake the agency’s perceived role in shaping the pharmaceutical pricing landscape.
Continue Reading Calls for USPTO to Adopt Policies to Modulate Drug Pricing
Prior Art Showing An Invention To Be “At Least Possible” Found Sufficient To Invalidate Surgical Device Patent
On August 23rd, the Federal Circuit upheld in part and reversed in part a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB or Board) concerning Ethicon’s patent on a robotic surgical tool, holding that the Board’s finding of no motivation to combine is not supported by substantial evidence. In doing so, the court determined the PTAB “went too far” in its holding of non-obviousness by requiring Intuitive to specifically identify a preexisting surgical device performing as many functions as required by the Ethicon patent; it was enough that the prior art established such a device was “at least possible.”
Continue Reading Prior Art Showing An Invention To Be “At Least Possible” Found Sufficient To Invalidate Surgical Device Patent
When Is Less Really More for a Patent Licensee?
By Siegmund Y. Gutman on
In Apple v. Qualcomm, Federal Circuit Finds No Standing to Challenge Validity of a Few Patents When Many Were Licensed
The development timeline for small-molecule drugs and biologics is lengthy, estimated to take between 10 and 15 years. As a result, pharmaceutical companies need to consider freedom to operate issues long before they receive FDA approval or market their new product. These considerations might lead a company to take a license, seek to invalidate a competitor’s patent, or some combination of the two. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) is a popular venue for challenging patent validity and in 2020, Bio/Pharma and Chemical Patents accounted for 12% of petitions filed at the PTAB.Continue Reading When Is Less Really More for a Patent Licensee?
I’ve Been Sued for Patent Infringement… Is an IPR Worthwhile?
By Sarah Cork on
Recent Precedential Decisions Applying Fintiv
When a company is sued for patent infringement, often one early strategic consideration is whether to counterattack the patent’s validity at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in a parallel post-grant proceeding such as inter partes review (IPR) or post-grant review (PGR). Although the PTAB has recently conformed certain practices more closely to litigation—notably, its claim construction and indefiniteness standards—it remains a valuable venue for patent challengers seeking a relatively speedy, predictable, and cost-effective process.Continue Reading I’ve Been Sued for Patent Infringement… Is an IPR Worthwhile?