Mealey's Patents : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Patents

August 13, 2024
In COVID-19 Vaccine Case, Federal Judge Says Patent Preambles Must Be Considered

WILMINGTON, Del. — The term “vaccine” within the preamble of a patent that was allegedly infringed upon by the manufacturing of various COVID-19 vaccines is a limitation of the patent’s claims because the term describes the intended use of the patent itself, a Delaware federal judge found in issuing a claim construction order interpreting the patent at issue.
August 13, 2024
Patent Trial And Appeal Board Panel Says Blood Pooling Method Was Not Obvious

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner erred in finding that a method of separating blood components by pooling blood samples together from multiple donors was obvious because none of the prior art mentions pooling blood together, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found Aug. 12 in rejecting the examiner’s findings.
August 12, 2024
Animal Drug Patent Owners Had No Notice Of Methodology Change, Federal Judge Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by changing, without notice, the methodology it uses to calculate regulatory review periods for new animal drug patents that are later used to extend the terms of such patents, a District of Columbia federal judge found in granting a patent owner’s motion for summary judgment.
August 09, 2024
Examiner Failed To Show Fragrance Delivery Claims Were Obvious, PTAB Panel Finds

WASHINGTON — A Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel on Aug. 8 reversed a patent examiner’s decision to reject as obvious a patent application that described a delayed chemical delivery system because the prior art referenced by the examiner failed to contain the same weight ratio as disclosed in the application.
August 08, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Obviousness Findings In Dispute Over Robot Patents

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) did not err in finding that all but one of several challenged patent claims concerning a docking method for a robotic cleaning device were unpatentable in light of prior art, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the PTAB’s final written decision on Aug. 8.
August 07, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees That Image Information Claims Are Patent Ineligible

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in finding that patent claims describing a method for storing information that relates to a captured image were patent ineligible because they are directed at an abstract idea and fail to present an inventive concept, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment on Aug. 6.
August 07, 2024
Genetically Modified Corn Patent Claims Will Move Ahead In Delaware Federal Court

WILMINGTON, Del. — The owner of a genetically modified corn patent did not grant the public or a competitor unrestricted authorization to use its patented seeds by placing them in a deposit because such deposits can be used to disclose patent specifications in furtherance of a patent application, a Delaware federal judge found in denying the competitor’s motion to dismiss claims brought against it by the patent owner.
August 06, 2024
Remote Access Voice Invention Was Obvious, Federal Circuit Says In Affirming PTAB

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in ruling that a patent describing a method of remotely accessing a computer via voice commands issued through a mobile device was obvious in light of prior art because the PTAB’s findings were supported by substantial evidence and expert testimony, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the PTAB’s final written decision.
August 01, 2024
Slide Designer Failed To Allege That Its Design Patent Was Knowingly Infringed

SANTA ANA, Calif. — In asserting a claim for inducement of design patent infringement against a trampoline and recreational park franchisor, a slide designer failed to allege that the franchisor had actual knowledge that the slides it sold to its franchisees infringed upon the design patent at issue, a California federal judge found in granting the franchisor’s motion to dismiss without prejudice.
July 31, 2024
Microprocessor Patent Owner Doomed Its Own Claims Via Assertions Made To PTO

WILMINGTON, Del. — Intel is entitled to summary judgment on claims of patent infringement brought by the owner of a patent that describes an internal architecture for improving processing speeds because the owner previously argued before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in favor of a specific construction of its own patent that differs from Intel’s allegedly infringing products, a Delaware federal judge found in granting Intel’s motion for summary judgment.
July 31, 2024
Jet Engine Heating Patents Were Anticipated By Prior Art, PTAB Panel Concludes

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in finding that jet engine heating patents were anticipated by a prior art because the patent applicant failed to show that his claims specifically explained how the heat within the engine is generated, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings on July 30.
July 30, 2024
Federal Circuit: Regulation Applies To Amended Claims In Internet Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute between a software company and Apple and Motorola over a patent regarding how internet content is displayed on mobile devices, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that a regulation addressing estoppel provisions in patent office proceedings is valid but vacated and remanded the board’s decision in two reexamination proceedings for it to reconsider the regulation’s application to previously issued claims.
July 30, 2024
Patent And Trademark Director Says PTAB Erred In Focusing On Patent Discrepancy

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel erred in denying institution of inter partes review of patent claims describing an optical system for collecting distance information because the panel focused too heavily on a typographical erred in a cited prior patent that had no bearing on the claims at issue, the director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office found in vacating the panel’s decision under director review.
July 30, 2024
PTAB Disagrees With Inventors, Finds That Pet Treat Holder Claims Were Obvious

WASHINGTON — A patent examiner did not err in rejecting patent claims that disclose a pet treat holder as obvious because an artisan of ordinary skill could create the pet treat holder by combining prior art, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings.
July 29, 2024
Wis. Federal Judge Declines To Set Aside Entry Of Default In Boat Seat Patent Row

MADISON, Wis. — A company that failed to respond to claims of infringement arising from boat seat design patents failed to show that there was good cause for its default, that it took quick action to correct the default or that it has meritorious defenses to the claims, a Wisconsin federal judge found in denying the company’s motion to set aside the entry of default.
July 26, 2024
Evidence Supports Verdict That Can Patents Were Anticipated, Federal Circuit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in denying a motion for a judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) because substantial evidence supported a jury’s finding that beverage can patents were anticipated by a previous patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found July 25 in affirming the trial court’s judgment.
July 25, 2024
PTAB Panel Says Claims For Monoclonal Antibody Implant Were Not Obvious

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner failed to show that claims for an implant that releases a monoclonal antibody tissue to treat macular degeneration were obvious in light of prior art because the examiner failed to show that a combination of the prior art would result in the same type of continuous release describes by the patent claims at issue, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found July 24.
July 25, 2024
Federal Circuit: PTAB Did Not Err In Crediting 1 Expert’s Testimony Over Another

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute over two virtual network patents, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in crediting the testimony of one expert over another when it found, in two final written decisions, that the patents at issue were not obvious in light of prior art, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the decisions on July 24.
July 24, 2024
Majority Of UGG Patent And Trade Dress Claims Will Continue In N.Y. Federal Court

NEW YORK — The designer of UGG brand footwear successfully pleaded the majority of its claims against a rival company that is allegedly infringing upon its design patents and trade dress, a New York federal judge found in partly granting the rival companies’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.
July 23, 2024
Tech Giants Can’t Convince Federal Circuit To Reverse PTAB Touch-Screen Decisions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In two separate opinions, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in ruling that patent infringement claims arising from touch-sensitive user interfaces and brought against Samsung, Apple and Google were not obvious in light of various prior art.
July 23, 2024
Federal Circuit Says Patent Appeals Are Moot In Light Of District Court Order

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that two appeals regarding wireless earphone patents are moot because the assignee of the patents failed to appeal a federal trial court order holding that the patent claims at issue were invalid in a separate case.
July 19, 2024
In Dispute Over Memory Chip Patents, Calif. Federal Judge Dismisses Counterclaims

SAN FRANCISCO — A manufacturer of flash memory chips failed to properly allege its counterclaims of direct and induced patent infringement against a rival chip maker because it failed to include sufficient factual allegations to support the claims, a California federal judge found in granting the rival’s motion to dismiss the counterclaims.
July 18, 2024
Inventor Fails To Persuade PTAB Panel That Liquid Cleaning Method Is Not Obvious

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in finding that a method for cleaning comestible liquids using electricity was obvious in light of prior art because the inventor of the method failed to show that the prior art was not analogous, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings on July 17.
July 18, 2024
District Court Has Authority To Investigate Party Misconduct In Patent Cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in ordering a woman to appear at an in-person hearing and holding her in civil contempt after she failed to do so because the court has inherent authority to investigate litigation misconduct allegedly carried out by the woman, the companies she manages and her attorneys in numerous patent infringement cases, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.
July 17, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Order In Medical Device Patent Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Summary judgment was appropriately granted in a patent infringement dispute over a medical device used for hemodialysis because the patent owner failed to present factual evidence from which a reasonable juror could have found that the product in question infringed upon the patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found July 16.