Since today is Halloween, this blog will commemorate the occasion with a creepy patent. U.S. Patent No. 9,406,092 B2 (‘092) issued on August 2, 2016, for “Targeting items to a user of a social networking system based on a predicted event for the user.” It was issued to inventor Paul Adams of San Francisco, California. …
Month: October 2018
Monsanto Motion for New Trial Conditionally Denied and JNOV Denied
As a follow-up to our previous posting on the blockbuster glyphosate trial in which a plaintiff suffering from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was awarded $289 million by a San Francisco jury, the judge, on October 22, 2018, has conditionally denied Monsanto’s motion for new trial and denied its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). This decision …
Fed Circuit Watch: PTAB Bungles Real Party-in-Interest Analysis
On September 7, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Worlds Inc. v. Bungie, Inc.,[1] representing another case in the growing case law of IPRs and specifically, the time-bar application and collateral estoppel. Worlds Inc. owns U.S. Patent Nos. 7,945,856 (‘856), 8,082,501 (‘501), and 8,145,998 (‘998). All are directed to methods and …
Fed Circuit Watch: Different Evidence + Different Standards of Review = Different Validity Result
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit presented an interesting paradox in patent validity challenges, especially when the same parties bring forth essentially the same issues, but have different results in different federal agency or judicial reviews, as was seen in Nobel Biocare Services AG v. Instradent USA, Inc.,[1] decided on September 13, 2018. …
Fed Circuit Watch: Opioid Addiction Drug Patent Not Obvious
On September 10, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Orexo AB v. Actavis Elizabeth LLC,[1] in what turns out to be a fairly straightforward analysis of an obviousness case under 35 U.S.C. §103. The facts are as follows. Orexo owns U.S. Patent No. 8,940,330 (‘330), which describes opioid treatment generally, and …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,675,579 B2
U.S. Patent No. 9,675,579 B2 (‘579) issued on June 13, 2017, for “Tetrahydrocannabivarin for use in the treatment of nausea and vomiting.” It was issued to applicant GW Pharma Ltd., of Salisbury, Great Britain, and inventors Erin Rock and Linda Parker of Guelph, Canada, and Marnie Duncan and Collin Stott of Salisbury, Great Britain. The …
Monsanto Files Motions for Relief After Blockbuster Glyphosate Jury Verdict
Monsanto Co. is fighting back against the $289 million jury verdict for its glyphosate product, ROUNDUP®. On September 19, 2018, Monsanto filed two post-trial motions for relief with the Superior Court of California: motion for new trial and motion notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) in attempts to overturn the verdict against its $6.6 billion product, where …
TechPat: U.S. Patent No. D822,755 S
U.S. Patent No. D822,755 S (‘755) issued on July 10, 2018, for “Eyeglasses.” It was issued to inventors Evan Spiegel of Venice, California, Lauryn Morris, of Los Angeles, California, David Meisenholder of Venice, California, and Qiaokun Huang of Venice, California. The applicant/assignee is Snap Inc., the parent company of the social media company Snapchat. Evan …
Fed Circuit Watch: Broad Wins Latest CRISPR Court Battle
On September 10, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Regents of the Univ. of Calif. v. Broad Inst., Inc.,[1] in the latest court battle in the CRISPR patent challenge pitting three of the nation’s largest research universities against each other. CRISPR, or “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats,” is a family …
Fed Circuit Watch: Nexus Required Between Attorney Fees Award and Misconduct
Another recently unsealed opinion from August 15, 2018 revealed a decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit involving inequitable conduct and fee award. In the opinion dated July 28, 2018, in In re Rembrandt Techs., LP Patent Litigation,[1] the Fed Circuit held that while the district court did not abuse its discretion, …