Mealey's Patents
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October 08, 2024
High Court Won’t Consider Manuals’ Exclusion From Prior Art Analysis
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a patent owner’s petition for a writ of certiorari, declining to hear arguments that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it held that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly found that manuals related to a meat and cheese slicer were not publicly available and that other prior art failed to disclose two limitations.
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October 08, 2024
Supreme Court Denies ‘Hypermedia’ Method Patent Owner’s Certiorari Petition
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a patent owner’s petition for a writ of certiorari, leaving in place a February decision from the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that upheld a California federal judge’s finding of ineligibility for the company’s patent related to a content distribution system.
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October 08, 2024
High Court Rejects Mud Flap Patent Owner’s Bid For Certiorari
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 rejected a patent owner’s bid for a writ of certiorari, declining to hear the man’s argument that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to uphold a Michigan federal judge’s finding that the man was not entitled to injunctive relief in a patent dispute over mud flaps for vehicles.
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October 07, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari In FCA Public Disclosure Bar Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a petition for certiorari filed by pharmaceutical companies seeking review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that the public disclosure bar was not triggered in a case where it reversed a district court’s dismissal of a suit accusing the companies of violating the False Claims Act (FCA) by artificially inflating drug prices.
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October 07, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Consider Effects Of Patent Term Adjustment On Viability
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a tech firm’s petition asking the high court to determine that a patent that has had its expiration extended under patent term adjustment (PTA) due to application delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should not then be susceptible to findings of obviousness and invalidity.
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October 04, 2024
Federal Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment On Counterclaim In Crocs’ Patent Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Colorado was wrong to grant summary judgment in favor of Crocs Inc. on a counterclaim of false advertising brought by a defendant shoe company in a sprawling patent infringement case originally filed nearly two decades ago, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 3.
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October 03, 2024
Judge Dissolves TRO In Neck Fan Patent Suit, Denies Damages Motion
CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge rejected a technology company’s motion to convert a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a company it accused of infringing patents related to a fan device that hangs around the wearer’s neck into a preliminary injunction; the judge also dissolved the TRO, holding that the patent holder did not establish a likelihood of success on its infringement claim.
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October 03, 2024
Federal Circuit Reverses Federal Judge’s Denial Of JMOL Motions In Patent Row
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Missouri should have granted defendant companies’ motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and for a new trial on damages, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 2, holding that a plaintiff company’s infringement theory on patents related to meat and cheese slicers was based on allegations not in evidence.
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October 02, 2024
Judge OKs Preliminary Injunction In Patent Fight Over Wall Socket Cover
MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida granted a plaintiff electrical appliance company’s motion for a preliminary injunction on the company’s claims that a defendant company violated its patent with an allegedly infringing wall socket organizer product, affirming a federal magistrate judge’s holding that the plaintiff company adequately displayed its likelihood of success on the merits.
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September 30, 2024
Judge Denies Alleged ‘Patent Troll’s’ Motion To Dismiss Valve’s Complaint
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington said a video game company has shown that it had adequate reason to fear infringement claims would be brought by a man the company deems a “patent troll,” denying a motion from the man and entities he controls to dismiss the company’s complaint seeking a declaration invalidating one of the relevant patents.
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September 26, 2024
Federal Circuit Grants Google’s Petition For Rehearing Of Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Sept. 25 that it will reconsider its June opinion leaving in place findings by a jury empaneled in a Texas federal court that Google LLC infringed smart thermostat technology to the tune of $20 million in damages owed to a patent owner, granting Google’s petition for en banc rehearing.
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September 24, 2024
Qualcomm’s Claims On Voltage Tracking Unpatentable, Federal Circuit Finds
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 23 affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that certain claims in Qualcomm Inc.’s patent relating to power tracking supply voltage are unpatentable as obvious; the panel also dismissed a cross-appeal from Intel Corp. to consider a finding that other claims were not obvious.
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September 24, 2024
Federal Circuit: Eye Syringe Claims From Novartis Are Unpatentable
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board was correct to hold that a pharmaceutical company’s claims related to a prefilled syringe for eye diseases were unpatentable, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal panel held Sept. 23, agreeing with the board that the claims are combinations of prior art references.
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September 23, 2024
Judge Tosses 1 Count From Comcast’s Contract Suit Stemming From Patent Claims
NEW YORK — In a contractual dispute between Comcast Cable Communications Management LLC and a developer of silicon chips for high-speed internet stemming from another developer’s ability to sue Comcast for patent infringement, a federal judge in New York dismissed one of Comcast’s claims for declaratory judgment, holding that the claim now reflects no potential harm because one of the contracts in question has expired.
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September 19, 2024
Federal Circuit: Judgment In Patent Case Wrongly Based On Points Not Made At Trial
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Delaware abused his discretion by issuing a ruling after a bench trial in a patent dispute between pharmaceutical manufacturers over a drug for overactive bladders by determining that the plaintiff company’s patent was invalid based on an invalidity defense the parties stipulated not to invoke, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 18, reversing the judge’s June 2023 decision.
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September 18, 2024
Federal Circuit: Tech Company’s Patent Suit Against Meta Properly Dismissed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in California was correct to dismiss with prejudice a technology company’s patent infringement suit against Meta Platforms Inc. involving digital tagging technology because the plaintiff company did not claim patent-eligible subject matter in its suit, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 17.
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September 17, 2024
Federal Circuit: Judge Erred When Finding Patent Claims Mutually Exclusive
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Minnesota incorrectly held that that varying claims about the location of an opening in a catheter were mutually exclusive, which forced the judge “into a later conclusion of indefiniteness, which it did not have to do” in a patent dispute over the catheter, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Sept. 16.
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September 13, 2024
Judge Dismisses Patent Infringement Claims Against Hulu Over Ad Stream Technology
LOS ANGELES — A California federal judge dismissed a suit filed by a media company against streaming service Hulu, alleging patent infringement regarding patents relating to integrating advertising into digital media streams, finding that “[t]he claims are patent ineligible” because they “do not contain an inventive concept.”
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September 12, 2024
Nevada Federal Judge Dismisses Invalidity Defense In Dispute Over LED Patents
LAS VEGAS — The owner of several light-emitting diode (LED) technology patents is entitled to summary judgment on an affirmative defense of invalidity raised by a group of companies accused of infringing upon the patents because the prior art referenced in the defendants’ expert testimony does not quality as prior art in this instance.
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September 12, 2024
Federal Circuit: GoPro Not Entitled To Summary Judgment In Camera Patent Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court erred in finding that patents disclosing a portable video camera are directed toward an abstract idea because the patents improve upon previous technology, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held in reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to GoPro Inc.
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September 12, 2024
Federal Circuit: Patent Expert Didn’t Need Requisite Skill At Time Of Invention
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An expert was not required to have the requisite level of ordinary skill in 1999 when a 3D modeling system was invented to later testify before a jury about the invention in a patent dispute because the expert sufficiently acquired the requisite skill before testifying, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in ruling that the jury’s verdict of infringement was supported by substantial evidence.
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September 11, 2024
Birkenstock’s Design Patent And Trade Dress Infringement Claims Survive Dismissal
BOSTON — The makers of Birkenstock sandals and clogs plausibly stated all the necessary elements of their claims for patent and trade dress infringement brought against a competitor who allegedly copied their designs by showing that the competitor’s reportedly infringing products are sufficiently similar and have acquired a secondary meaning with the public, a Massachusetts federal judge found in denying the competitor’s motion to dismiss.
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September 11, 2024
Federal Magistrate Judge Declines To Stay Discovery In DNA Detection Patent Row
SAN DIEGO — Two companies that are alleged to have violated patents relating to DNA detection are not entitled to a stay of discovery pending the resolution of their motion for judgment on the pleadings because the motion is not necessarily dispositive of the entire case, a California federal magistrate judge found in denying the two companies’ request.
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September 11, 2024
Federal Circuit: Method For Tipping During Media Viewing Is Patent Ineligible
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in finding that a method and system for eliciting and receiving tips during media consumption was directed at an abstract idea because the idea is simply a method of organizing human economic activity, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the PTAB’s decision on Sept. 10.
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September 10, 2024
Judge Allows Experts’ Opinions On LLMs In Alexa Patent Case
RICHMOND, Va. — An expert’s opinions on the availability of large language models (LLMs) when Amazon.com first released its Alexa assistant product are admissible, a federal judge in Virginia said in denying three motions to exclude under Daubert in a patent infringement lawsuit.