Director Kappos Comments on Written Description Requirement

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) recently issued on en banc decision in Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., essentially leaving the written description requirement intact.  In that case, Ariad filed a patent application relating…

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Inequitable Conduct Law Continues to Evolve

Avid Identification Sys. v. Crystal Import Corp., No. 09-1216 (April 27, 2010) In Avid, Dr. Hannis Stoddard, who was the founder and president of the company, hired three engineers to develop a product based on his idea of identifying and…

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New Patent Reform Bill Seeks to Apply Daubert like Gatekeeping to Damages Theories

Prior unsuccessful attempts to reform the U.S. patent system and rein in massive damages awards have sought to limit damages to the actual economic impact attributable to the claimed invention.  In its most recent bill, the U.S. Senate has shifted…

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Enforcing a Judgment by Levying a Domain Name

The Ninth Circuit issued an ironic ruling last month regarding levying domain names to satisfy a prior judgment.  In Office Depot, Inc. v. Zuccarini, (9th Cir., Feb. 2010) Slip Opinion, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a creditor can levy a…

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Biotech Patents Invalidated for Failing to Disclose the Best Mode

The Federal Circuit has affirmed an ITC decision finding two asserted patents invalid because they did not satisfy the best mode requirement of 35 U.S.C. §112. The two patents relate to improved methods of producing L-lysine using genetically modified E.…

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CAFC: You Can’t Copy And Then Turn A Blind Eye To Avoid Induced Infringement

The Federal Circuit has recently addressed the issue of the knowledge required to support a finding of induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b).  SEB S.A., et al. v. Montgomery Ward & Co., et al., Case Nos. 2009-1099, -1108, -1119…

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CAFC Upholds Finding of Inequitable Conduct For Failure to Disclose Contradictory Statements Regarding Prior Art

The Federal Circuit has recently affirmed a Northern District of California decision finding, among other things, U.S. Patent No. 5,820,551 (the ‘551 patent) unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Co., Case No. 2009-1511 (Fed. Cir.…

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Hefty Fines For False Patent Marking

As many patent owners and licensees are aware, U.S. law allows manufacturers of patented products to mark the product with the number of the relevant patent (or simply “patent pending” if a patent has been applied for).  This not only…

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Midwest Intellectual Property Symposium Held Nov. 19 – 20

The Midwest Intellectual Property Symposium was held November 19 & 20 at the University Hotel and Conference Center in Indianapolis, IN.  The event was sponsored by the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation and featured presentations by speakers in a variety…

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Federal Circuit to Rehear the Tafas Case En Banc

On July 6, the Federal Circuit granted rehearing en banc in Tafas v. Doll regarding the USPTO’s power to implement new rules on restrictions for continuations and claim limitations.  No comment concerning the underlying opinion was given beyond announcing its…

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Litigation in the Digital Age of Discovery:  How to Ensure “Reasonable” Searching of Electronically Stored Information

We litigate in a digital age.  As a result, electronically stored information (ESI) is subject to discovery in a lawsuit.  Discovery demands that each side produce to the other side its information that is relevant to the suit.  These days,…

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The Conflict Between European Privacy Laws and U.S. Discovery Requirements

Recently adopted European data protection laws designed to protect the privacy of European employees can easily conflict with U.S. civil litigation document production requirements.  The dilemma for multinational companies can be whether to comply with U.S. court discovery obligations and…

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