Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Category: Patent

Congress Reintroduces Innovation Act in Hopes to Curb Frivolous Patent Litigation

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On April 7, 2015

Recently, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte reintroduced a patent reform bill, known as the Innovation Act of 2015 (H.R. 9) (“The Act”). This reintroduced bipartisan bill is substantially similar to its predecessor, Innovation Act of 2013. The Innovation Act of 2013 had received overwhelming support by the House of Representatives, but was ultimately tabled, along with other patent reform bills, due to bipartisan disputes.

The Patient Survives: Third Party Challenge to PTO Revival of Patent Application Barred under the Administrative Procedures Act

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Posted in Patent

On April 6, 2015

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a third party may not challenge a decision by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to revive an application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty and enabling statutes (“PCT”) through the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”). See Excela Pharma Sciences, LLC v. Lee, No. 13-1206 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 26, 2015). In combination with the Federal Circuit’s prior holding in Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. v. International Game Technology, 543 F.3d 657 (Fed. Cir. 2008), this holding puts such decisions beyond the reach of third parties, whether affirmatively attacked under the APA or defensively raised in a later infringement action.

An Issue of First Impression: Federal Circuit Limits Review of Stay Motions in Connection With Covered Business Method Reviews

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On April 2, 2015

On April 1, 2015, The Federal Circuit dismissed JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s (“JPMC”) interlocutory appeal of a district court ruling denying a motion to stay pending a covered business method review (“CBMR”). Addressing an issue of first impression, the Court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction under §18(b)(2) of the America Invents Act (“AIA”) to review the district court’s order because JPMC moved for a stay while JPMC’s CBM petition was under review by the USPTO Director and a CBM proceeding had yet to be instituted. In Intellectual Ventures v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Intellectual Ventures (“IV”) sued JPMC alleging infringement of five patents. JPMC responded by filing a motion to stay pending the results of four CBMR petitions that it was planning to file. Immediately after, JPMC filed two CBM petitions covering only two of the asserted patents.

Award of Preliminary Injunction to Declaratory Judgment Defendant in the District of Delaware Offers Cautionary Tale in Opposition Strategy

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Posted in Patent

On March 19, 2015

District Court Judge Sue L. Robinson, U.S.D.J., of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted a rare preliminary injunction to the declaratory judgment defendant in a patent infringement action, highlighting the importance of presenting infringement arguments under both parties’ claim constructions and expert analysis that supports invalidity. CryoLife Inc. v. C.R. Bard Inc. et al., No. 14-559, Dkt. Entry No. 116, Mem. Order. The injunction bars sales of PerClot Topical, CryoLife’s blood-clotting powder product.

Federal Circuit Limits Patent Exhaustion

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Posted in Patent

On March 11, 2015

A recent decision by the Federal Circuit, Helferich Patent Licensing LLC v. The New York Times Co., has held that the applicability of the patent exhaustion defense may be limited to a claim-by-claim determination depending on the nature of the licensed rights granted. In Helferich, the patent owner held rights to a portfolio of patents with claims relating to providing content to wireless handsets and relating to methods for updating content stored on the wireless handsets. Prior to bringing the present litigation, Helferich had licensed handset manufacturers under the patents with the license grants being directed specifically to the handset claims. Subsequently, the patent owner brought suit against The New York Times Company and others asserting infringement of the content claims.

Potential Delay Enough to Reduce PTA

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On March 9, 2015

The Federal Circuit recently addressed the issue of whether Patent Term Adjustment (“PTA”) can be reduced under 35 U.S.C. § 154(b)(1)(C) by conduct that does not actually cause delay in the conclusion of prosecution. Section 154(b)(1)(C) provides that PTA “shall be reduced by a period equal to the period of time during which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution of the application.” The USPTO has interpreted the statute to mean that conduct that did delay or that could potentially delay the examination of a patent applications should be sanctioned. In Gilead Sciences Inc. v. Lee, Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”) contested the USPTO’s interpretation and argued that the statue required actual delay in the conclusion of prosecution. The Federal Circuit held that Congress’s intent in enacting the statute was “to sanction not only applicant conduct or behavior that result in actual delay, but also those having the potential to result in delay irrespective of whether such delay actually occurred.”

Heightened Pleading in Patent Complaints to Frustrate Trolls – Exception for Hatch-Waxman/ANDA Cases

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Posted in Patent

On March 3, 2015

All branches of government have worked to decrease frivolous litigation by non-practicing entities (“NPEs”), or patent trolls, in order to both encourage developing technology and allow businesses to utilize that technology without a looming threat of disruptive and costly litigation. In the course of our coverage of these efforts, we have seen state and federal legislative bodies, as well as the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), the executive branch, and the courts, suggesting potential solutions. Congress is currently weighing a revamped version of House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s Innovation Act bill, which seeks to reform patent litigation by focusing on pleading standards.

The United States Deposits Ratification of the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement and Becomes a Member Country of the Hague System

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On February 24, 2015

On Friday, February 13, 2015, the United States deposited an instrument of ratification to the 1999 Geneva Act (Geneva Act) of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (Hague Agreement) with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). With this final step by the United States to become a signatory to the Geneva Act, qualifying U.S. applicants will be able to more easily protect their design patents in member countries and intergovernmental organizations (Contracting Parties) that have also signed on to the Geneva Act.

Depending on the Circumstances, Claim Construction May Be Subject to Clear Error Review on Appeal

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Posted in Patent

On February 10, 2015

Traditionally, claim construction, which can be an important phase in patent litigation for setting the metes and bounds of a patent, has been viewed as a pure question of law and subject to de novo review by the Federal Circuit on appeal. This was considered problematic by some because the district court’s findings on claim construction, which the parties had been relying on throughout the litigation, were not given any deference on appeal.

Federal Circuit Issues Its First AIA Appeal Ruling

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Posted in Patent / USPTO

On February 9, 2015

On Tuesday, the Federal Circuit issued its first ruling on an appealed Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) decision of an inter partes review (“IPR”). Cuozzo Speed Technologies (“Cuozzo”) owns U.S. Patent No. 6,778,074 (the “’074 patent”) entitled “Speed Limit Indicator and Method for Displaying Speed and the Relevant Speed Limit.” Garmin International, Inc. and Garmin USA, Inc. (collectively, “Garmin”) petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for IPR of claims 10, 14, and 17 of the ’074 patent. The PTAB found the claims to be invalid as obvious.

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