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Can Old Products Be Patented Based On Newly Discovered Properties?
Entrenched in patent law is the principle that a challenge against a patent for anticipation or obviousness must be based on 'prior art,' and not on disclosure in the patent itself. Also entrenched in patent law is the principle that an otherwise known product cannot be patented merely because one discovers new and unobvious properties possessed by that product.
The Federal Circuit wrestled with these two principles in
Elan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 64 USPQ2d 1292 (Fed. Cir. 2002). According to the majority, the district court invalidated Elan's patent by relying not on the prior art but on Elan's specification itself, in violation of the first principle recited above. However, according to the dissent, the majority sustained patentability of an otherwise known product based on Elan's discovery of new and unobvious properties of that product, in violation of the second principle recited above. In its upcoming en banc review, the Federal Circuit should reconcile this apparent doctrinal conflict.
Elan's Invention
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?