Mealey's Patents : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Patents

December 12, 2024
Petitioner In Patent Safe Harbor Row Asks High Court To Distribute Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A medical device company that told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inappropriately expanded a safe harbor found in the Patent Act waived its right to a 14-day waiting period after an upcoming requested filing from the respondent medical company in the case, arguing that the case should be distributed for the high court’s Jan. 10 conference.
December 12, 2024
Federal Circuit Panel Mostly Upholds Inter Partes Review Invalidating LED Patents

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) erred in treating a figure in a prior art reference as being drawn to scale, thus necessitating a partial reversal and remand of an inter partes review (IPR) decision, the panel otherwise affirmed the board’s finding that two claims of a light emitting diode (LED) patent owned by the University of California were invalid as obvious in light of prior art.
December 11, 2024
PTAB’s Unpatentability Finding In Mobile Tech Dispute Upheld By Federal Circuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was correct to rule in favor of multiple communications technology companies that sought inter partes review (IPR) of a now-expired mobile communications patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Dec. 10; the panel affirmed PTAB’s finding that the challenged claims were unpatentable as obvious.
December 10, 2024
Federal Circuit Affirms Construction Of ‘Merchants’ Claim In Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Delaware federal judge did not err when holding that the claim term “merchants” should be limited only to those who sell goods, not services, in a patent dispute involving e-commerce platforms, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held, affirming the judge’s finding of noninfringement.
December 10, 2024
No Infringement Of Rosacea Medication Patent, Federal Circuit Agrees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said that a Third Circuit judge overseeing district court proceedings in Delaware was correct to hold that a defendant biopharmaceutical company’s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) did not infringe the plaintiff company’s patents on medications for the skin condition called rosacea.
December 09, 2024
Federal Circuit Upholds Sanctions In Stun Gun Design Patent Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Arkansas reasonably awarded sanctions against a plaintiff company and its attorney in a patent infringement dispute involving a design patent for electrodes for stun guns, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Dec. 6, saying that the district court did not err when holding that the company’s past history of filing meritless suits against other entities shows a pattern of bad faith.
December 06, 2024
Infringement Claims Over Tank Level Design Patent Survive Dismissal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The defendant in a patent infringement lawsuit saw its motion to dismiss partly granted by a Florida federal judge, who found that a design patent holder did not plausibly allege false advertising, deceptive trade practices or false marking claims related to ornamental components of a tank monitoring system.
December 06, 2024
Some Claims Obvious In Circuit Package Patent Row, Federal Circuit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a patent infringement dispute between manufacturers of semiconductors, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 5 affirmed findings from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that some claims in the relevant patents are ineligible as obvious while other claims are patent eligible, handing mixed results to both the appellant and cross-appellant companies.
December 06, 2024
Drug Patent Holder Breached Covenant Not To Sue From Earlier Infringement Suit

WILMINGTON, Del. — In the latest chapter in an long-running dispute over the pharmaceutical colchicine, a Delaware federal judge found that a patent owner’s infringement suit against the maker of a generic version of the drug breached a covenant not to sue that was contained in an agreement that resolved a previous lawsuit between the two companies.
December 06, 2024
Federal Circuit: No Infringement By Meta Of Data Storage Patent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A New York federal judge did not err in granting summary judgment in a patent dispute between social media company Meta Platforms Inc. and a company that accused it of infringing patents related to methods of storing data chronologically, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said, affirming the judge’s holding that the evidence did not show that Meta’s product satisfied the patents’ claim limitations.
December 05, 2024
Federal Circuit Partly Affirms, Partly Reverses PTAB Patentability Findings

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 4 said the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was correct to hold that many of claims in a series of patents owned by a biopharmaceutical company related to the process of separating components from a mixture are unpatentable as obvious, but the panel reversed the PTAB’s findings that some of the claims were not unpatentable.
December 04, 2024
Federal Circuit Upholds PTAB Invalidity Finding In Telecommunications Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) was correct to hold that a telecommunications company’s patent on a system that manages telecommunication networks is anticipated by prior art and is thus invalid, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, despite a defendant entity settling with the plaintiff company while the case was before the appellate panel.
December 04, 2024
Deal In Progress Reported In Coverage Row Over Loss Of Patent Litigation Counsel

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Without providing details, the parties in a coverage dispute over loss of patent litigation counsel filed a notice in Tennessee federal court “that they have reached a settlement in principle of all matters in dispute.”
December 03, 2024
Mixed Results On Dueling Summary Judgment Motions In LED Patent Suit

PHOENIX — A federal judge in Arizona granted and denied aspects of dueling motions for summary judgment in a patent infringement dispute involving heat management technologies for LED lighting systems, handing a mixed result to the plaintiff and defendant companies.
November 27, 2024
Judge: Some Claims In DNA Patent Dispute Based On Unpatentable Natural Laws

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts dismissed some aspects of a patent infringement suit involving technologies that detect changes in genetics, agreeing with a defendant biopharmaceutical company that some of the asserted claims in the plaintiff companies’ patents were patent ineligible because they were directed at a naturally occurring process.
November 27, 2024
Judge Finds Generic Drug Maker Infringed 2 Infection Treatment Patents

CHICAGO — In a lengthy and thorough ruling, an Illinois judge ruled that an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of a bacterial infection treatment infringed two patents owned by a New Jersey biopharmaceutical firm directly and contributorily.
November 26, 2024
Judge: Patent Claims In Immunotherapy Row Survive Summary Judgment

WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware almost entirely denied a summary judgment motion filed by a defendant biopharmaceutical company, holding that a reasonable jury could find that the company had infringed upon the plaintiff company’s patented immunotherapy regimen used in treating cancer.
November 26, 2024
Judge: Company’s Patent On File Backup System Too Abstract To Hold Up

BOSTON — Finding that the central claims of the relevant patent are directed at an unpatentable abstract idea, a Massachusetts federal judge granted a defendant software company’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement complaint brought against it by a patent holder that claimed the company copied its invention of a digital file backup process.
November 26, 2024
Vaginal Remodeling Device Patent Dispute Transferred To Massachusetts

LOS ANGELES — Because the defendant in a patent infringement dispute is based in Massachusetts, a California federal judge determined that the other state would be a better venue to resolve the suit centering on vaginal remodeling devices because, among other things, it is where most of the pertinent business records, evidence and witnesses are located.
November 25, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees: Electronic Pipe Patent Anticipated By Prior Art

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 affirmed a finding from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review (IPR) brought by tobacco company Philip Morris Products SA and its American subsidiary, agreeing with the PTAB’s holding that multiple claims in a patent on an electronic smoking pipe product were patent ineligible for being anticipated by prior art.
November 22, 2024
No Infringement Of Patent By Pet Camera Maker, Federal Circuit Agrees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 21 found that a federal judge in Washington correctly granted summary judgment in a patent dispute over devices that allow pet owners to remotely give treats to their furry friends, agreeing with the judge that there was no genuine dispute of material fact.
November 22, 2024
TikTok Not Entitled To Attorney Fees In Digital Media Patent Infringement Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Despite TikTok Inc. being the prevailing party and being granted judgment on the pleadings in a patent infringement suit over video clip storytelling, a California federal magistrate judge found that the case was not exceptional, leading her to deny the social media company’s motion for attorney fees of almost $5 million.
November 21, 2024
Federal Circuit Agrees Patent Holder Didn’t Show Injuries From Twitter

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted a motion for summary affirmance from the company formerly known as Twitter Inc., agreeing with a Texas federal judge that a patent holder that inherited patents regarding online videos from a predecessor company failed to show how it as the current patent holder was harmed by Twitter; the finding doomed the patent holder’s request for a preliminary injunction that was filed nearly eight years after the suit was initially brought.
November 21, 2024
Parties Can’t Dismiss Patent Appeal After Opinion Was Issued, Federal Circuit Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite the parties indicating that they had agreed to a settlement after the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an opinion vacating an order from the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in a patent infringement dispute over network security features, the Federal Circuit denied the parties’ voluntary motions to dismiss, saying that granting them at the current stage would require the modification or total vacatur of the opinion.
November 19, 2024
Judge Tosses Patent Suit Against Google Over Ineligible HVAC Claims

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California on Nov. 18 granted Google LLC’s motion to dismiss a patent infringement suit brought against it by a technology company over smart thermostat technology, holding that the company’s patent is directed at unpatentable abstract ideas.