In the first of two cases analyzing patent subject matter-eligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101 decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Data Engine Techs. LLC v. Google LLC,[1] issued on October 9, 2018, a circuit panel held certain patent claims directed to electronic worksheet tabs as patent-eligible. Several other claims were found …
Author: Yonaxis
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 10,028,987 B1
U.S. Patent No. 10,028,987 (‘987) issued on July 24, 2018, for “Cannabis-Infused Milk.” It was issued to inventor Dylan Pillsbury, of Dos Rios, California. The applicant/assignee is Chocowaska Cooperative, Inc., a cannabis-infused edibles and hemp company. The claims are directed to a method of preparing and processing milk infused with cannabis, which includes heating the …
SCOTUS Watch: Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Copyright Cost Row
On September 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.,[1] in order to resolve a split in the circuits related to prevailing copyright litigant’s awarding of “full costs,” and whether that means only taxable costs under 28 U.S.C. §1920 – court and witness fees, copying costs, expert …
TechPat: U.S. Patent No. 10,057,241 B2
U.S. Patent No. 10,057,241 (‘241) issued on August 21, 2018, for “Toggle Between Accounts.” It was issued to inventors Anand Subramani and François Alexander Allain, both of San Francisco, California. The applicant/assignee is Dropbox, Inc., a public cloud storage company. The elements of the ‘241 patent claims appear aimed at its AdminX business division products …
Fed Circuit Watch: Patent Prosecution 101 – Don’t Mess with Your Priority!
A recent case decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Natural Alternatives Int’l, Inc. v. Iancu,[1] on October 1, 2018, highlights one of the pitfalls of patent prosecution that is sometimes overlooked or left to non-practitioner patent staff to handle but carries a major risk of losing patent term or patent priority. …
TechPat: U.S. Patent No. D814,846 S1: Thanksgiving Edition
U.S. Patent No. D814,846 S1 (‘846) issued on April 10, 2018, for “Rotisserie Turkey Deep Fryer.” It was issued to inventors James A. Hedrington of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and Michael R. Berge of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The applicant/assignee is National Presto Industries, Inc., a public kitchen appliance manufacturer. This patent is a design patent under …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,974,821 B2
U.S. Patent No. 9,974,821 B2 (‘821) issued on May 22, 2018, for “Method of juicing cannabis plant matter.” It was issued to applicant/inventor Matthew Kennedy, of Westminster, California, although the corresponding application publication lists Drive Juicery, LLC, as the assignee. This is one of several patents in the cannabis space that has been issued to …
Rule Change for PTAB Post-Grant Claim Construction
On October 11, 2018, the USPTO published in the Federal Register a rule change, 83 F.R. 51340, to take effect today, November 13, 2018. For all AIA post-grant petitions (IPRs, PGRs, and CBMs) filed on or after this date, the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard will no longer be used in claim construction for these …
Fed Circuit Watch: PTAB Messed Up Obviousness Analysis (Again)
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) seems to have bungled an obviousness analysis (again), and was dinged by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in E.I. DuPont de Nemours v. Synvina C.V.,[1] decided on September 17, 2018. The case is a good primer on the law of obviousness related to overlapping ranges. …
Glyphosate Plaintiff Accepts Reduced Punitive Damages Award
On October 26, 2018, the dying plaintiff in the first-of-its-kind case involving Monsanto Co.’s glyphosate product, ROUNDUP®, has accepted a judge’s punitive damages award reduction prior to the court-imposed deadline of December 7, 2018. The amount of $78 million represents the $39 million for compensatory damages, and the equivalent $39 million for punitives, which the …