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. …
Category: patent
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 …
CannabIP: DEA Schedules CBD – but with Big Caveat
On September 27, 2018, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) scheduled EPIDIOLEX® as a Schedule V regulated drug under the Controlled Substance Act (CSA). In doing so, the DEA has expressly scheduled a drug wholly-containing cannabis compounds as an active ingredient. Epidiolex was recently approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for market as a …
SCOTUS Watch: Is the U.S. Government a Person?
An interesting question has been presented to the U.S. Supreme Court when it granted a writ of certiorari on October 26, 2018. That is, is the United States Government, through one of its agencies, a “person” for purposes of the America Invents Act (AIA), the most recent Patent Act from 2012. The case, Return Mail …
TechPat: U.S. Patent No. 9,406,092 B2 – Halloween Edition
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. …
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 …