Steuben Foods, Inc. did not have a good week at the Federal Circuit. On March 13, 2018, two decisions were rendered against it in two patent cases, although for different rationales. The first, Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Steuben Foods, Inc.,[1] the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Steuben Foods could not argue …
Fed Circuit Watch: Patent Troll Thwarts Google’s Assertion of Claim Preclusion
On March 12, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit delivered a ruling that will stymie Google’s efforts to shake off a pesky serial patent litigator deemed a “patent troll” by the tech press. That case is SimpleAir, Inc. v. Google LLC.[1] This is the fourth litigated iteration filed by SimpleAir against Google, …
Fed Circuit Watch: PTAB Not Bound by Fed Circuit Precedent
On March 1, 2018, in a fairly convoluted and highly fractured decision, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was not bound to collateral estoppel principles which form a long line of Fed Circuit case precedence. That case is Knowles Elecs. LLC v. Cirrus Logic, …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,895,404 B1
U.S. Patent No. 9,895,404 B1 issued on February 20, 2018, for “Cannabidiol Extraction Plant and Processes,” to Paul T. Baskis. This is a utility patent, specified in 35 U.S.C. §101, because it describes a new process for extracting CBD from the cannabis plant.[1] There is certainly a method, or process or algorithm, being described in …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. 9,888,703 B2
U.S. Patent No. 9,888,703 was issued on February 13, 2018, for “Method for Making Coffee Products Containing Cannabis Ingredients,” to Christopher Bhairam. It is one of the latest issued patents directed to subject matter involving cannabis. The disclosure is directed to methods of making coffee containing doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extracted into the coffee pod. …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. PP27,475 P2
U.S. Patent No. PP27,475 was issued on December 20, 2016, for “Cannabis Plant Named ‘Ecuadorian sativa’.” It is the first plant patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new strain of a cannabis plant. Botanical details as specified in the specification note that it is taxonomically in the genus Cannabis, and …
Fed Circuit Watch: Google Upends Patent Troll’s Claims as Obvious
This is the third recent precedential case issued by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in January that disposed of patent claims as obvious. This case is noteworthy because the losing party is an alleged patent troll, and the winning party is none other than Google. The case, Arendi S.a.r.l. v. Google, LLC,[1] …
CannabIP: U.S. Patent No. D798,739
U.S. Patent No. D798,739 was issued for “Cannabis Storing Container with Individual Tear Off Lids,” a design patent, on October 3, 2017. It was issued to Brian K. Reaux. The invention is actually the ornamental features of an adhesive lid covering the container, and not the container itself. Patents are issued for: subject matter which …
Fed Circuit Watch: Motion-Tracking Patent Beats Obviousness Finding
This is the second of a trio of recent Federal Circuit precedential cases that have dealt with the law of obviousness that we will review for this blog. Here, in Elbit Systems of America, LLC v. Thales Visionix, Inc.,[1] the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that claims directed to a motion-tracking patent …
Fed Circuit Watch: Still Another §101 Decision Signals Sea Change
On February 14, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit handed down Aatrix Software, Inc. v. Green Shades Software, Inc.,[1] which signals a possible sea change in the §101 patent-eligibility analysis and potentially give patent holders some ammunition to fight invalidation of their patents. This opinion also tracks the rather complex federal court …