Regardless of whether a patent practitioner's clients favor a stricter or more lenient eligibility regime, patent eligibility decisions continue to evolve. We need a line drawn for what practitioners expect to be clearer. Hardware inventions are facing patent eligibility challenges that would have seemed more likely in software inventions. Recent court decisions have shown that what once made a hardware invention eligible may no longer fly.
A recent Federal Circuit opinion sheds light on the process for settling co-ownership disputes pursuant to an underlying agreement. Although the precedential opinion does not change the rules of contract interpretation, it suggests considerations when drafting ownership agreements.
Federal Circuit: Agreement Between Patent Owner and Third Party Was Not Insulated from The On-Sale Bar
Federal Circuit Affirms Precedential Opinion Panel Decision Limiting the Circumstances In Which the Board Should Raise Sua Sponte Patentability Issues Against Proposed Substitute Claims Federal Circuit Rejects District Court's Claim Construction As Being Too Narrow Federal Circuit Rejects District Court's Claim Construction Because It Is Not Supported by the Intrinsic Evidence, and Leaves Dependent Claims Without Scope
Federal Circuit: District Court Abused Discretion By Attributing Inconsistent Position to Plaintiff
An overview of redesigns at the ITC, a discussion of the ITC's recent determination in Certain Audio Players and Controllers, and identifies some considerations to keep in mind when litigating redesigns at the ITC.
Federal Circuit: Applicant Admitted Prior Art Cannot Provide a "Basis" for a Ground of Unpatentability in an IPR, But Can be Cited for Other Purposes Federal Circuit: After SAS, IPR Estoppel Extends to Prior-Art Grounds That Reasonably Could Have Been Raised in the Petition
Evolusion Concepts, Inc. v. HOC Events, Inc. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc.
Patent marking is an important step in the patent lifecycle as it is generally required to seek damages from infringers prior to the date the suit is filed. While virtual marking has somewhat reduced the overhead of marking, it suffers from the same problems all Internet-based evidence runs into in court: websites are ephemeral and have intermittent accessibility, as well as poor public logging of when information existed where, and for how long. NFTs on a digital blockchain could potentially overcome these hurdles, while still providing the benefits of virtual marking via websites.
Pair of Federal Circuit Decisions Address Standing to Appeal Adverse IPR Decision
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