By Thomas F. Zuber and Sarah S. Brooks of Zuber & Taillieu
The Federal Circuit recently clarified several aspects of § 1920’s allowances for a prevailing party to charge its costs against the losing party. In In re Ricoh Co., Ltd., 661 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2011), the Federal Circuit upheld the use of cost-sharing agreements over default statutory rules, allowed the… More...
Holding: In this action about a patent relating to a control system for car seats, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has applied the rule that a person does not necessarily attain the status of co-inventor by merely providing the sole feature of a dependent claim. In so… More...
Holding: In this dispute over pick-up truck bed patent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgments of no literal infringement and no infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. The U.S. District Court entered summary judgment of no literal infringement, concluding that defendant-appellee Honda’s… More...
Holding: In a case that has far-reaching consequences on patenting of biotechnology, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the rejection of claims of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 09/667,859 (“’859 Application”) as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a). This case presented a claim to a classic biotechnology… More...
Holding: In a split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld the authority of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) to issue the highly contested Final Rules relating to claims and continuation examination. The Federal Circuit ruled that the USPTO did not exceed its authority… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the rejection by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (“BPAI”) of a patent claim relating to weight reduction capsules. Specifically, the BPAI ruled that claim 2 of U.S. Patent No. 5,945,107 (the “’107 patent”) held by Natures Remedies,… More...
Holding: In a precedential opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that a marketing paradigm for bringing products to the market is not patentable since it does not fall under any category for patent-eligibility under Section 101 of the Patent Act. Applying the machine-or-transformation test laid… More...
Holding: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a jury’s determination that plaintiff-appellant Line Rothman’s patent for a nursing garment that had invisible support for nursing mothers was invalid for being obvious. The Federal Circuit explained that a particular manner in which an invention is actually made… More...
Holding: Citing court precedent, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit invalidated for obviousness Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container, Inc.’s (“BASC”) patent that claims a candle holder with a removable cover that also acts as a base for the holder. In so doing, the Federal Circuit reversed the U.S.… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has granted Honeywell International, Inc.’s and Honeywell Intellectual Properties, Inc.’s (collectively “Honeywell”) motion to compel discovery in connection with its infringement suit against CPT, Inc. (CPT). In its motion, Honeywell argued that CPT actively induced infringement of its ‘823 patent,… More...
Holding: The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has ordered the transfer of a patent dispute between Microsoft Corp. and its former technical consultant Gary Odom to Oregon. The district court reasoned that the convenience of witnesses and localized interests weighed in favor of transfer. The district court… More...
