Summaries of recent reported decisions of the Federal Circuit prepared by Irfan Lateef. District Court’s Remand to State Court Was Unreviewable In Preston v. Nagel, Appeal No. 2016-1524, the Federal Circuit rejected a proposed exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1447(d), which bars review of an order remanding a case... read more →
Jul
15
Apr
26
Summaries of recent reported decisions of the Federal Circuit prepared by Irfan Lateef. Federal Circuit Reverses Finding of Infringement Where Patentee Fails to Overcome Strong Presumption That Markush Groups Are Closed In Shire Development, LLC v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Appeal No. 2016-1785, the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a district... read more →
Feb
22
In patent litigation, the question of whether venue is proper often turns on whether a defendant resides in the forum. The patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b), provides that an “action for patent infringement may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant... read more →
Oct
05
In Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. [En Banc Opinion], Appeal Nos. 2015-1171, 2015-1195, 2015-1994, the Federal Circuit vacated the panel decision, reinstated Apple’s $120 million jury verdict, and remanded the willfulness issue for consideration under the Halo standard. At the district court, a jury awarded Apple nearly $120... read more →
Oct
04
In Synopsis, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp., Appeal No. 2015-1599, the claims reciting a method related to circuit design were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The asserted method claims recite translating a functional description of a logic circuit (e.g., software code) into a hardware component description of the logic... read more →
Oct
04
In Massachusetts Institute of Technology v. Shire Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Appeal No. 2015-1881, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s conclusion that a clear and unmistakable prosecution disclaimer had not occurred during prosecution of a parent application and also affirmed that the term “three-dimensional” was not indefinite. MIT sued Shire... read more →
Oct
03
In Poly-America, L.P. v. API Industries, Inc., Appeal No. 2016-1200, the Federal Circuit affirmed a narrow claim construction based on a “clear and unequivocal” disavowal of claim scope in the specification and prosecution history. Poly-America sued API for infringing its drawstring trash bag patent. The entry of judgment turned, in... read more →
Oct
02
In FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Systems, Inc., Appeal No. 2015-1985, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that FairWarning’s patent claimed patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. FairWarning sued Iatric Systems asserting its patent titled “System and Method of Fraud and Misuse Detection.” Specifically, the patent... read more →
Oct
01
In In Re: Constantin Efthymiopoulos, Appeal No. 2016-1003, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision affirming the Examiner’s rejection of all pending claims as obvious. Applicant applied for a patent directed to methods of treating influenza by administering the drug zanamivir through oral inhalation. The Examiner... read more →
Oct
01
In Medtronic, Inc. v. Robert Bosch Healthcare Systems, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2015-1977, 2015-1986, 2015-1987, the Federal Circuit ruled that a Patent Trial and Appeal Board determination to vacate an institution decision and terminate IPR proceedings is not reviewable under 35 U.S.C. § 314(d), consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Cuozzo... read more →