Four years after fully embracing international copyright exhaustion in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court has finally taken up the issue of patent exhaustion. In Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International Inc., the Court has been asked to answer two questions: Whether a sale that transfers title to the patented … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court finally resolved an issue that divided the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for nearly 20 years. In Teva Pharm. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 831, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a trial court’s underlying factual determinations with respect to extrinsic evidence … Continue Reading
In one of its only pro-patentee decisions in recent years, the Supreme Court held last week that an accused infringer’s good-faith belief of patent invalidity is not a defense to a claim of inducing infringement. Even though the court reaffirmed that a good-faith belief of non-infringement is a defense to inducement, the court’s decision benefits … Continue Reading
Google has been one of the most vocal critics of so-called patent trolls, more formally referred to non-practicing entities (NPEs) or patent assertion entities (PAEs), as well as a proponent of measures designed to improve software patent quality. At the same time, Google is one of the largest patent holders in the world. Though Google … Continue Reading
Though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has reduced patent prosecution time a bit during the past five years, it still takes, on average, at least 18 months before the patent examiner acts upon an application. Throw in two or more office actions, and the average pendency of a patent application is more than … Continue Reading
As we reported last year, one of the issues that has divided the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the CAFC) for nearly 20 years is the proper standard of appellate review of patent claim construction rulings. No less than four CAFC en banc decisions addressed the issue. In each instance, the majority … Continue Reading
In a recent blog post, we reported that a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) had reaffirmed that appellate review of patent claim interpretations is de novo, without any deference to the trial court even for factual matters. As we stated in that post, the 6-4 en banc decision by the … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has once again reaffirmed that appellate review of patent claim interpretations is de novo, without deference to the trial court even for factual matters.1 The 6-4 en banc decision in Lighting Ballast Control LLC v. Philips Electronics N.A. Corp.,2 by the only appellate court having … Continue Reading
Many businesses outsource work such as website creation, software development or other creative tasks, engaging the services of companies or individuals experienced in these fields. Some are surprised to learn, often the hard way, that paying someone to create your website, develop software or produce other works of authorship does not mean you own the … Continue Reading
Under a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, publishers of books and magazines who print and sell their publications in other countries through distributors will no longer be able to rely on U.S. copyright law to prevent others from importing and re-selling those publications in the U.S. In Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.1, the … Continue Reading
With significant changes to law governing how the U.S. grants patents taking effect next month, Porter Wright recommends that all clients consider filing any contemplated patent applications by March 15. This includes filing non-provisional patent applications, and in some cases Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications, that are based upon any provisional or non-U.S. patent … Continue Reading
With significant changes to law governing how the U.S. grants patents taking effect next month, Porter Wright recommends that all clients consider filing any contemplated patent applications by March 15. This includes filing non-provisional patent applications, and in some cases Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications, that are based upon any provisional or non-U.S. patent … Continue Reading
In this Part Two of my series on this topic I’ll take a look at the benefits and risks of the preissuance submission. As you recall, we covered the results of recent changes to U.S. patent law by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA") that make it more feasible to prevent the issuance of a … Continue Reading
As a result of recent changes to U.S. patent law by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA"), preventing the issuance of a competitor’s patent (or at least narrowing its scope) is more feasible. Not only do third parties now have more time to submit prior art and other relevant information, they can also assist the … Continue Reading
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ("AIA") was enacted on September 16, 2011. The changes implemented by this Act are wide-ranging and significant, and different provisions have different effective dates, with many taking effect September 26, 2011, September 16, 2012, or March 16, 2013. We will be providing additional information in the coming weeks and months.… Continue Reading
