One of the most important copyright cases was recently decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, addressing Google’s use of Java code owned by Oracle. On March 27, 2018, in Oracle America, Inc. v. Google LLC,[1] the Fed Circuit held that Google’s use of Oracle’s Java code was not fair use. This …
Month: April 2018
Fed Circuit Watch: No Overlap Required for Prima Facie Obviousness Between Claimed & Prior Art Ranges
On March 27, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in In re Brandt, which is just another case in a long line of cases dealing with ranges and obviousness under 35 U.S.C. §103. The facts are as follows. Gregory A. Brandt and John B. Letts, the application-at-issue’s two inventors, and Firestone …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,889,100 B2
U.S. Patent No. 9,889,100 B2 issued on February 13, 2018, for “Cannabidiol for Treatment of Severe and Refractory Graft-Versus-Host Disease.” The inventor is Moshe Yeshurun, and the applicant/assignee is Mor Research Applications Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel. Mor Research is the patenting and licensing division of Clalit Health Services, the largest of four state-mandated HMOs …
9th Circuit Serves Up Blurred Lines of Copyright Protection for Musical Works
On March 21, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in a split decision in Williams v. Gaye,[1] that the Estate of Marvin Gaye was entitled to broad copyright protection over Gaye’s 1977 hit song “Got to Give it Up,” including its distinctive musical groove, and the substantial similarity of the hit …
Fed Circuit Watch: Common Sense Cannot Replace Evidentiary Support
On March 23, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down DSS Techs. Mgmt., Inc. v. Apple Inc.,[1] reversing two IPR decisions in Apple’s favor on a DSS-owned patent which the PTAB ruled as unpatentable as obvious. The Fed Circuit panel went to lengths to call out the PTAB’s poor analysis and …
Snippets Not Fair Use According to Second Circuit
In another fairly big copyright decision by a federal court of appeals, another seeming technological innovation in the digital space was viewed as copyright infringement. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in Fox News Network, LLC v. TVEyes, Inc.,[1] on February 27, 2018, in a case that will most likely have broader …
Fed Circuit Watch: PTAB Obligated to Follow Own Rules
On March 19, 2018, the Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit handed down Dell Inc. v. Acceleron, LLC (and an erratum)[1] In this case, the panel, composed of Judges Moore, Reyna, and Taranto, ruled that the PTAB had to follow its own rules of practice, after it had decided on late-entered arguments that went counter …
Fed Circuit Watch: Unreasonably Broad PTAB Claim Construction Reversed
On March 19, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected, in In re Power Integrations, Inc.,[1] a PTAB decision finding that claims were invalidated as anticipated as unreasonably overbroad. The claim construction was subject in an ex parte reexamination of Power Integrations’ U.S. Patent No. 6,249,876 (‘876). ‘876 is directed to “Frequency …
Fed Circuit Watch: Written Description From Earlier-Filed PCT with Species Claim Sufficient Support for Later-Filed Genus Claim
On March 14, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Hologic, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.,[1] which deals with many areas in patents, including foreign applications, priority claims, 35 U.S.C. §103, 35 U.S.C. §112, and pre-AIA treatment for examination. This case was heard before a panel composing of Judges Newman, …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,895,342 B2
U.S. Patent No. 9,895,342 B2 issued on February 20, 2018, for “Cannabinoids for Use in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain.” It is assigned to GW Pharma Ltd., which is a fairly large pharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom. The invention disclosure relates to methods for treatment of neuropathic pain using cannabinoids, and specifically in …