TechPat: U.S. Patent No. 10,123,538 B2

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U.S. Patent No. 10,123,538 B2 (‘538), issued on November 13, 2018, for “Glyphosate Salt Herbicidal Composition.”  The inventors are David R. Eaton of Kirkwood, Missouri, Jeffrey A. Graham of Chesterfield, Missouri, and Henry Agbaje of Greensboro, North Carolina.  The applicant and assignee is Monsanto Technology LLC of St. Louis, Missouri, the huge agro- biotech company …

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Fed Circuit Watch: Single Reference Obviousness Finding Does Not Require Motivation to Combine

103 fed circuit watch IPR motivation to combine patent POSITA

Two cases decided recently by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit discuss the oft-problematic area of 35 U.S.C. §103, or the nonobviousness requirement.  This is the second case, Realtime Data, LLC v. Iancu,[1] decided January 10, 2019. Realtime Data, LLC, owns U.S. Patent No. 6,597,812 (‘812), directed to system and method of providing …

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SCOTUS Watch: On-Sale Bar Still Valid Under AIA

102 AIA on-sale bar patent pre-AIA scotus watch

On January 22, 2019, the United States Supreme Court handed down a highly anticipated ruling that has caused measurable discrepancies amongst the patent community after the America Invents Act (AIA) was enacted.  That ruling, Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc.,[1] held that the on-sale bar applies to confidential sales more than one year …

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Fed Circuit Watch: No Error in Reconsideration of Non-Instituted Ground of Unpatentability

103 fed circuit watch IPR obviousness patent

Two cases decided recently by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit discuss the oft-problematic area of 35 U.S.C. §103, or the nonobviousness requirement.  AC Technologies S.A. v. Amazon.com, Inc.,[1] decided on January 9, 2019, is the first case. AC Technologies S.A. owns U.S. Patent No. 7,904,680 (‘680), directed to data access management, in …

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Fed Circuit Watch: Method of Wagering a Dice Game Bites Alice Dust

101 fed circuit watch patent patent eligible subject matter

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, on the last day of the court’s calendar year, December 28, 2018, ruled on In re Marco Guldenaar Holding B.V.,[1] in what is the last 2018 case discussing patent-eligibility under 35 U.S.C. §101.  The ruling is not very groundbreaking, although it does emphasize that gaming methods are …

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TechPat: U.S. Patent No. D826,814 S

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U.S. Patent No. D826,814 S1 (‘814) issued on August 28, 2018, for “Instrument Panel.”  It was issued to inventors Franz Von Holzhausen of Malibu, California, Ivan Lumpkin of Redondo Beach, California, Pascal Grappey of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, and Peter Blades-Nixon of Long Beach, California.  The applicant/assignee is Tesla, Inc., a electric car and renewable …

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PlantIP: U.S. Patent No. PP29,976 P2

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U.S. Patent No. PP29,976 P3 (‘976) issued on December 11, 2018, for “Phlox Plant Named ‘Verpri’.”  It was issued to inventor/applicant Janus Verschoor of Haarlem, Netherlands.  The assignee is A. Verschoor Horticulture Import-Export B.V., of Haarlem, Netherlands, a perennial wholesale company.  This patent is a plant patent under 35 U.S.C. §161, which protects new and …

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