On January 25, 2022, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued sanctions against a group of trademark filing entities (“TFEs”): Abtach, Ltd., 360 Digital Marketing LLC, and Retrocube LLC, including the officers – Azneem Bilwani, CEO, Salman Yousuf, COO, Muhammad Saad Iqbal, President of Abtach, and Irsa Faruqui, President of Retrocube (collectively “Abtach TFEs”). …
Category: ethics
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, …
IP Practicum: USPTO Proposes Patent Fee Increases for FY2019
On July 25, 2018, the USPTO submitted for publication a Federal Official Gazette notice of public hearing 2018-16432 pursuant to the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC). The notice specifies broad increases affecting patent filings and prosecution. It was published on August 8, 2018, in the Federal Gazette. While most of the fees are in the …
Fed Circuit Watch: Merck’s Unclean Hands Render Hep C Patents Unenforceable
The doctrine of unclean hands is a judicially-created equitable defense in which equitable relief is denied where that party has acted in a fraudulent manner or in bad faith.[1] Gilead Scis., Inc. v. Merck & Co., Inc.,[2] decided by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 25, 2018, discusses the confluence of …
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, …
USPTO Issues Final Rule on Patent-Agent Privilege
On November 7, 2017, the USPTO issued its long-awaited new rule extending the USPTO’s attorney-client privilege to registered U.S. patent agents. The final rule can be found here.[1] This new rule has long been wanted by patent practitioners because, up until now, there existed a gray area of the practice which potentially prevented clients from …
Fed Circuit Watch: Litigation Misconduct and Inequitable Conduct
By Brent T. Yonehara On July 27, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Merus B.V. In Regeneron, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s finding that Regeneron’s patent 8,502,018 was unenforceable due to inequitable conduct.[1] This case brings up the Therasense New Order of Inequitable Conduct in …
Patent Practitioner Ethics Rule Changes in USPTO
Ethics rules are changing for patent practitioners registered to practice before the USPTO