U.S. Patent No. PP31,707 P3 (‘707) issued onapril 28, 2020, for “Cannabis Plant Named ‘Grape Lollipop’.” It was issued to inventor Mark Anthony Lewis and Steven Robert Haba, of Westlake Village, California and applicant/assignee Biotech Institute, LLC of Westlake Village, California. The ‘707 patent is a plant patent under 35 U.S.C. §161, which protects new …
Category: patent
U.S. Patent No. 10,625,177 B2
U.S. Patent No. 10,625,177 B2 (‘177) issued on April 21, 2020, for “Bioavailable Cannabis Plant Blend.” It was issued to inventor David Harold Moore of Henderson, Nevada. The inventor discusses in the background of the specification how he has Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism. This autism can lead to an autoimmune disorder causing …
Presidential Inauguration Day
This is something trivial, but important to the daily IP practice. Consistent with 5 U.S.C. §6103(c), which deems “January 20 of each fourth year after 1965, Inauguration Day, is a legal public holiday . . . . ,” the USPTO is closed. The Copyright Office is also closed for the presidential inauguration. Any deadlines that …
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021
On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the annual defense spending bill, was signed into law. Focused on COVID-19 relief and funding the federal government operations, there are also several IP-related authorizations approved in the bill itself. First, the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act) creates a …
Small Entity Change for 2021
On December 21, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office amended practice rule 37 C.F.R. §1.27, to expand the government use license exception. First, a Federal employee-inventor must be granted to the Federal government in the event that employee-inventor retains ownership rights in the invention. Further, and more significantly because it potentially covers more small-to-medium …
U.S. Patent No. 10,752,636 B2
U.S. Patent No. 10,752,636 B2 (‘636) issued on August 25, 2020, entitled ”HIV Inhibitor Compounds.” It was issued to inventors Elizabeth Bacon, Elbert Chin, Jeromy Cottell, Ashley Katana, Darryle Kato, John Link, Nathan Shapiro, Teresa Trejo Martin, and Zheng-Yu Yang. The applicant/assignee is Gilead Sciences, Inc., of Foster City, California. The ‘636 patent is a …
Arguing Takings of IP Rights is, Sadly, a Losing Proposition
The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment states that private property “shall not be taken for public use, without just compensation.”[1] Intellectual property rights – patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other IP – have long been considered property rights. This belief, however, has been tested by the Supreme Court’s reluctance to specifically define IP as a …
SCOTUS Grants Certiorari on Appointments Clause Issue
In its orders of October 13, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted petitions for writ of certiorari to three cases involving Arthrex, Inc., dealing with the constitutionality of the PTAB’s judges: United States v. Arthrex, Inc. (Docket No. 19-1434), Smith & Nephew, Inc. v. Arthrex, Inc. (Docket No. 19-1452), and Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & …
U.S. Patent No. 10,695,361 B2
Given the current coronavirus pandemic, much has been discussed about possible vaccine trials and antiviral treatments to coronavirus. One patent directed to therapeutic use is U.S. Patent No. 10,695,361 B2 (‘361) issued on June 30, 2020, entitled ”Methods for Treating Arenaviridae and Coronaviridae Virus Infections.” It was issued to inventors Michael O’Neil Hanrahan Clarke, Joy …
Method of Preparation Claims Patent-Eligible in Illumina Modified Opinion
On August 3, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a modified opinion in Illumina, Inc. v. Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc.,[1] reiterating its earlier opinion[2] finding claims directed to method of preparing cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood as patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101. This modified opinion reflected Ariosa’s recent petition …