Firm News

Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Post-Grant Proceedings in Oil States

»»On June 12, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Oil States vs. Greene’s Energy Group, et al., a case dealing with the constitutionality of the post-grant challenge procedures established by the America Invents Act (AIA). The Federal Circuit, below, had upheld the constitutionality of these procedures. The petition for writ of certiorari submitted by Oil […]

Supreme Court Narrows Patent Venue Law in TC Heartland, Likely Limiting Future Suits in the Eastern District of Texas

»»In TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, LLC., 581 U. S. ____ (2017), the Supreme Court substantially narrowed the law of patent venue, preventing a patent owner from filing an infringement suit against a defendant in any district court where the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction. Instead, patent owners will only be […]

Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Oil States to Review Constitutionality of IPRs

»»On June 12, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Oil States vs. Greene’s Energy Group, et al., a case dealing with the constitutionality of the post-grant challenge procedures established by the America Invents Act (AIA). The Federal Circuit, below, had upheld the constitutionality of these procedures. The petition for writ of certiorari submitted by Oil […]

USPTO Director Michelle Lee Resigns

»»The Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Michelle Lee, announced her resignation from that office on June 6th. Lee announced this action by an e-mail to the employees of the USPTO, sent with the subject “Farewell,” and reading as follows: Dearest Colleagues: This afternoon, I submitted my letter of resignation from […]

Updates in U.S. Patent Law, April 2017

»»Federal Circuit Rules that Patent Holder Cannot Evade Patent Marking Statute with Retroactive Statutory Disclaimer In Rembrandt Wireless Technologies, LP v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., No. 16-1729 (Fed. Cir. 2017), the Federal Circuit determined that a patent holder could not use a retroactive statutory disclaimer to avoid having to fully comply with the patent marking […]

Updates from the Federal Circuit, March 2017

»»Federal Circuit Applies Panduit Factors to Specific Feature In Mentor Graphics Corp. v. EVE-USA, Inc., No. 15-1470 (Fed. Cir. March 16, 2017), the Federal Circuit determined that the Panduit factors could apply to a patented feature that represented only one part of a multi-component product, as well as to a patented product. Under the Panduit […]

Supreme Court Limits Laches Defense

»»In SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag et al. v. Quality Baby Products, LLC, et al., No. 15-927, 580 U.S. ___ (2017), the Supreme Court held that the defense of laches is not appropriate when suit is brought within the six year limitations period for patent infringement. Laches is an equitable doctrine used to limit the recoverability of […]

February 2017 Case Highlights

»»Supreme Court Overrules Life Techs v. Promega In Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp., No. 14–1538 (February 22, 2017), the Supreme Court overruled the Federal Circuit’s finding of induced infringement. Writing for a majority of the court, Justice Sotomayor determined that supplying a single component of a multi-component invention from the United States cannot be […]

Supreme Court Says Components Can Be “Articles of Manufacture” For Calculating Total Profits

»»In Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. v. Apple Inc., 580 U. S. ____ (2016), the Supreme Court reversed a damages award of approximately $399 million that had been granted to Apple by the trial court based on a “Total Profits” theory, and remanded the case to the Federal Circuit for reconsideration under its new standard. In […]

USPTO Announces First Ever Fee Increases Under the AIA

»»On October 3, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to set or increase certain patent fees. The goal of this directive is to cover funding shortfalls, or specifically to “recover the estimated costs of the patent operation and USPTO administrative fees that support patent operations.” […]