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IP News
More Than a Recitation of Hooke's Law Needed for Patent Protection
On Oct. 3, 2019, a Federal Circuit panel of Judges Dyk, Moore, and Taranto issued a decision in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, No. 2018-1763 (Fed. Cir. 2019). Judges Dyk and Taranto filed the majority opinion, and Judge Moore filed a dissenting opinion. The Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, finding that the claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,774,911 ("the '911 patent") were unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §101.
American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) sued Neapco Holdings LLC and Neapco Drivelines LLC (collectively, Neapco) for infringement of the '911 patent. See, id. at 2. The '911 patent is generally directed to "a method for manufacturing driveline propeller shafts ("propshafts") with liners that are designed to 'attenuat[e] … vibrations transmitted through a shaft assembly.'" Id. at 3 (citing '911 patent, col. 1, ll. 6-7). The vibrations of a propshaft cause undesirable noise, and various prior art references attempted to dampen the vibrations. See, id. at 3-4.
AAM argued that the inventive concept of the '911 patent was "the tuning of a liner in order to produce frequencies that dampen both the shell mode and bending mode vibrations simultaneously." Id. at 6. However, "neither the claims nor the specification describes how to achieve such tuning" and "does not discuss the process by which that liner was tuned." Id. at 7.
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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.
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.
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.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?