December 11, 2013

On December 6, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case about whether computer-implemented inventions are patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The case, Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International, No. 13-298, involves computer technology…

March 29, 2013

The presentation and accompanying video below generally concerns the procedures and rules for identifying whether or not patent applications are subject to the America Invents Act, commonly known as the AIA. It more specifically concerns the procedures and practices for…

March 18, 2013

Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) recently reintroduced H.R. 845, the Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes, or SHIELD Act. The bill seeks to “protect American tech companies from frivolous patent lawsuits that cost jobs and resources”…

January 3, 2013

With confetti still lingering in the air Congress passed H.R. 6621 which includes many technical amendments to the America Invents Act.  The passing of H.R. 6621 was not without a small amount of controversy as a section dealing with still…

October 1, 2012

Matthews International Corp. manufactures and sells a Bio Cremation™ product that uses a hydrolysis process to accelerate the natural decomposition of the body to cremate human remains.  In 2011, Matthews filed suit against our client, Biosafe Engineering, LLC, seeking a…

June 20, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down a decision in the much-anticipated Microsoft v. i4i case.  In its decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that invalidity of a patent must be proved by clear and convincing evidence.  To read the full…

June 16, 2011

As a result of Leland Stanford Junior University  v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., No. 09-1159, organizations and universities subject to the Bayh-Dole Act should construct more effective assignment agreements with their employees instead of relying on the Bayh-Dole Act to…

December 8, 2010

Woodard, Emhardt partner Charlie Meyer was the featured speaker at the November 30th, 2010 meeting of the Rotary Club of Indianapolis. Mr. Meyer’s presentation included a humorous and educational look at aspects of patent and trademark law, in addition to noting…

September 2, 2010

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has provided interim guidelines for determining subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101 for process claims in view of the United States Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Bilski v. Kappos.  The guidelines…

July 12, 2010

How often have you noticed that a product bears a label of “patent pending” or “U.S. Patent No.”?  But, what if that patent does not cover the product?  Or maybe there is no “patent pending”?  Well, anyone could have a…

July 7, 2010

Clients often want to know if they can file a patent application after they started selling, offering for sale, or telling the public about their invention. In most circumstances, the answer is ‘yes’; however, it is not without some caveats.…

June 30, 2010

The Federal Circuit has affirmed an International Trade Commission (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…