Federal Circuit Overturns Summary Judgment Finding of Inequitable Conduct
August 26, 2010
The Federal Circuit recently agreed to an en banc review of the admittedly scattered precedents concerning inequitable conduct. <i>Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co.</i> In vacating its earlier panel decision in <i>Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co.,</i> the rehearing order sets out six issues surrounding the materiality-intent standard at the core of any inequitable-conduct analysis. In the meantime, the current materiality-intent standard continues to result in drastically different outcomes, even among members of the same panel.
Hyundai Motor America v. National Union
August 26, 2010
Defendants in patent infringement actions have new reason to scrutinize their Commercial General Liability insurance policies. On April 5, 2010, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that allegations of patent infringement involving a method of advertising constitute "advertising injury," triggering an insurer's duty to defend a patent infringement suit.
A Long Voyage from the Runway to the Beltway
August 26, 2010
The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Protection Act ("IDPPA" or S. 3728) was introduced in the Senate on Aug. 5, 2010 by Sen. Charles Schumer. The bill proposes to extend copyright protection to unique fashion designs by amending Chapter 13 of U.S. Code Title 17 (the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act of 1998).
IP News
July 29, 2010
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Patent Correction: Navigating the Confusing Terrain of Broadening Reissue
July 29, 2010
There are times when a patent owner may discover that an issued patent does not claim everything that the patent should have covered. When such defects are discovered, one strategy a patent owner may wish to consider is filing a request with the USPTO for a broadened reissue of a U.S. patent to enlarge the scope of the claims of the original patent.
Korean War Memorial Copyright Infringed By U.S. Postal Service
July 29, 2010
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has held the U.S. Postal Service liable for copyright infringement for its use on a postage stamp of an image of a number of sculptures created by Frank Gaylord for the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
A Madness to the Method? The Impact of Bilski on Method Patents
July 29, 2010
For more than a year, the software/information technology, financial, and even biotech industries, along with the patent bar, waited for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue of business methods and patent-eligible subject matter under ' 101 of the Patent Act. In its recent decision in <i>Bilski v. Kappos</i>, the Supreme Court provided an answer for the business method claimed by Bilski, but not a lot of detailed guidance for future cases.
'Would You Like Fries with That?'
July 27, 2010
Recent court decisions addressing the classification of "goods" versus "services" have shed some light on the proper definition of "goods" in the context of whether a particular claim is for "goods" under ' 503(b)(9). However, these decisions have left open some key questions.
