Firm News

Click-To-Call Decision Distinguished by PTAB as it Faces Appeal to Supreme Court

»»Earlier this month, Dex Media (the remaining appellee) filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari over the Federal Circuit’s application of the one-year time-bar in Oracle Corp. v. Click-to-Call Technologies LP. According to the Federal Circuit, the one-year limit to file an IPR after being served with a complaint under 315(b) of the America Invents […]

Supreme Court Affirms Federal Circuit In Helsinn On-Sale Interpretation

»»On Tuesday, January 22, 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals and confirmed that Congress did not change the meaning of the term “On-Sale” when it passed the AIA in 2012. For a full description of the case’s disposition, see our previous update on the oral argument […]

USPTO Releases New Guidance on §101 and §112 Eligibility

»»As Director Iancu promised in his recent address,  the USPTO has issued revised guidance on the evaluation of eligibility. Specifically, the guidance sheds light on how the USPTO will address §101 abstract analysis and §112 in relation to computer implemented inventions. This memo is part of Iancu’s long-stated mission of bringing greater clarity and predictability […]

Federal Circuit Appeal on Trade Show Material as Prior Art Highlights Differences Between PTAB and ITC

»»The different standards between the PTAB and the ITC came to bear in a recent Federal Circuit appeal between Nobel Biocare Services AG and Instradent USA, Inc. (Appeal No. 2017-2256 ). The decision came on an appeal from an IPR where Instradent sought to invalidate Nobel’s patent relating to dental implants with a critical date […]

Maier & Maier Reaches 1000th Patent Issued

»»After over a decade of outstanding service and commitment to our clients, Maier & Maier is proud to have obtained 1000 patent grants for our clients from the United States Patent & Trademark Office. The most recent in a string of successes, this achievement represents both the quality and consistency of Maier & Maier’s work. […]

Maier & Maier Helps GREE, Inc. Deal Blow to Supercell Oy With Another Non-Institution Decision

»»On Monday, December 17, 2018, the PTAB denied institution of Supercell Oy’s PGR2018-00066 petition. The challenged patent, U.S. Pat. No. 9,873,044, which discloses a Method for controlling a server device, a server device, a computer-readable recording medium, and a game system. The petition proposed three grounds of rejection (one under §101 and two under §112). […]

Iancu: “Much More Work Needs To Be Done” On Section 101

»»At the 10th Annual Patent Law & Policy Conference late last month, USPTO Director Iancu announced that more USPTO guidance on Section 101 was forthcoming. As he explains, “the USPTO plans to issue guidance to help our examiners and applicants who struggle with these issues every single day”. Throughout his address, he focused on a […]

Supreme Court Not Buying Helsinn On-Sale Argument

»»On Tuesday, December 4, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals centered around the meaning of the phrase “On-Sale” under the AIA and whether the term was changed from the previous meaning. Helsinn originally sued Teva for infringement of four patents relating to palonosetron dosages in chemotherapy treatments in the […]

PTAB Petitions Spike As BRI Era Closes

»»On October 10, 2018, the USPTO announced it would adopt the Phillips claim construction standard as of November 13, 2018. That means that as of yesterday, any petitions filed are no longer reviewed under the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation (BRI) standard that the PTAB had applied since its creation under the AIA. Instead, they will be […]

USPTO Extends AFCP 2.0 Until September 30, 2019

»»The U.S. Patent Office announced that the After-Final Consideration Pilot 2.0 (AFCP 2.0) will be extended another year. Originally implemented in May 2013, the program allows for amendments and responses for the examiner’s consideration to be submitted after a Final Office Action has been sent. Prior to the implementation, applicants were limited to filing appeals […]