On July 27, US Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) proposed legislation that provides additional resources to small business owners and local law enforcement agencies for combating ongoing theft of intellectual property by foreign actors. The American IDEA (IP Defense and Enforcement Advancement) … Continue Reading
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) continues to be a popular venue for patent litigation under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The speed at which Section 337 investigations proceed and the significance of an adverse decision can create circumstances that may lead to allegations of improper conduct. Similar to patent litigation in … Continue Reading
Powerful remedies, particularly General Exclusion Orders, are often cited as a reason why patent owners should consider asserting their patents at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 instead of, or in addition to, in U.S. District Court. A recent Federal Circuit decision reaffirms another advantage of … Continue Reading
In the latest example of the escalation of tensions between Russia and the West, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin last week issued a decree that owners of Russian patents from countries that Russia considers to be unfriendly are no longer entitled to any compensation for compulsory licensing of their patents. In particular, the decree (translated … Continue Reading
As a companion to the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program and patent-related relief provided by the 2020 CARES Act, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced a similar Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program for patent applications claiming a process or product requiring FDA approval for COVID–19 use. In general, under 35 U.S.C. § … Continue Reading
Although America Invents Act (AIA) patent practice is entering its 8th year, many pre-AIA patent applications remain pending. This requires practitioners to stay attentive as to whether examination is being conducted under pre-AIA practice, and to ensure that the pre-AIA rules are correctly applied. In this regard, to avoid unnecessarily ceding claim scope to disqualified … Continue Reading
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 Alice decision narrowed the scope of patent eligible subject matter and introduced unpredictable legal and economic consequences—including more rejections of claims by patent examiners under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as ineligible subject matter, and uncertainty as to whether claims would be rejected on such grounds. In a recent report entitled … Continue Reading
In a newly-designated precedential decision, Ex parte Grillo-López, Appeal 2018-006082 (Jan. 31, 2020) (designated Apr. 7, 2020 as Precedential), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) differentiated the procedures in a pending patent application and an Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) proceeding for establishing whether a document qualifies as … Continue Reading
The recent passage of the massive Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act by Congress authorized the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to temporarily adjust its statutory time periods for replies and fees to help applicants file during the COVID-19 outbreak. With countless individuals and businesses significantly impacted by the growing pandemic, … Continue Reading
On November 25, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) affirmed an appeal from IBM that its invention fails to recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101. U.S. Patent Application Number 15/212,216 claimed a method for mining threaded online discussions, where an information handling … Continue Reading
On January 7, 2019, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) released its 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (“Guidance”), which revises the procedures for determining whether a patent claim is directed towards a judicial exception. Based upon post-Alice Federal Circuit decisions, the Guidance modifies the grouping of abstract ideas, and adds an … Continue Reading
Following a rejection by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) under section 102(f) for a rehabilitative dog harness, the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the rejection because the applicant “did not himself solely invent the subject matter sought to be patented.” In re VerHoef, No. 2017-1976 (Fed. Cir. May 3, 2018). Jeff VerHoef built … Continue Reading
Under 35 U.S.C. § 120, an application claiming benefit to the filing date of an earlier application must include a “specific reference” to the earlier filed application. In Droplets, Inc. v. E*TRADE Bank, No. 2016-2504, 2016-2602 (April 19, 2018), the Federal Circuit considered the use of incorporation by reference when asserting priority claims. The Federal … Continue Reading
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently released a Report summarizing the comments received during two roundtable discussions that the USPTO hosted in 2016 on patent subject matter eligibility. Since 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued four major decisions that have transformed subject matter eligibility law, and the USPTO has responded with … Continue Reading
Last week, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) issued two decisions reversing final rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Rather than performing an in-depth analysis of the claimed subject matter, the Board based these reversals on an incomplete subject matter eligibility analysis by the examiner. These appeals originated from Art Unit 3690, which focuses … Continue Reading
As a follow-up from November’s roundtable discussion, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) held its second roundtable discussion on the current state of subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101. This meeting focused on the legal boundaries of subject matter eligibility, versus earlier considerations of technicalities and challenges in applying the recent developments … Continue Reading
Following the recent Federal Circuit decisions in BASCOM and McRO, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) responded by providing all stakeholders with a helpful memorandum discussing these cases and how they affect patent subject matter eligibility. In addition, the USPTO continues its outreach efforts to identify where gaps exist in its guidance, and … Continue Reading
