On January 25, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled claims directed to improved display interface for cell phones was patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. §101 in Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. LG Electronics, Inc.[1] This case represents the second precedential one of the year where claims have been found patent-eligible by a …
Category: fed circuit watch
opinions by ct appeals for federal circuit (patent, trademark, some copyright)
Fed Circuit Watch: Improper Patent Assignment Dooms Standing to Sue for Infringement
On January 11, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on the Advanced Video Technology, LLC v. HTC Corp., case.[1] This case is a unique one dealing with the logistics of a patent assignment document, and the proper mechanisms to effect a proper transfer of rights. Absent these things, and the party …
Fed Circuit Watch: Gaming of Patent System Cannot Save Patent from Invalidation on Double Patenting Grounds
On January 23, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down In re Janssen Biotech, Inc.,[1] which dealt with the specific issue of the double patenting safe harbor under 35 U.S.C. §121.[2] This case is an example of playing games with the patent prosecution system in order to better position …
Fed Circuit Watch: Helsinn Redux: En Banc Denied
On January 16, 2018, in a non-precedential per curiam order (the order was not published, but was made available from our colleagues at the Patently-O blog), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an order denying Helsinn’s petition for rehearing and en banc rehearing. Judge O’Malley, a member of the original …
Fed Circuit Watch: Finjan Survives Alice Test for Subject Matter Eligibility
On January 10, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Systems, Inc.[1] Finjan sued Blue Coat, a subsidiary of rival Symantec Corp., for patent infringement of four of its patents dealing with cybersecurity methods and systems: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,154,844 (‘844), 7,418,731 (‘731), 6,965,968 (‘968), and …
Fed Circuit Watch: Time-Bar in IPR Institution Petition is Appealable
One January 8, 2018, the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit issued Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corp.,[1] in which the en banc panel held the PTAB decision to institute or not an inter partes review based on whether the petition was timely can be appealed through judicial review. Specifically, the issue was whether …
Fed Circuit Watch: Regeneron Denied Redemption in Misconduct Case
On December 26, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a request for rehearing en banc for reconsideration made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in a precedential decision. This petition was filed following the original decision affirming specific intent litigation misconduct held in the original appellate case. Judges Prost, Lourie, Dyk, Moore, O’Malley, …
Fed Circuit Watch: Lanham Act Section 2(a) Scandalousness Clause Deemed Unconstitutional
On December 15, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down its decision in In re Brunetti.[1] In Brunetti, the Federal Circuit panel, consisting of Judges Moore, Stoll, and Dyk, held that although the FUCT trademark contained immoral or scandalous matter, it remained federally registrable as a trademark because of …