In a precedent-setting design patent case, the Federal Circuit held that comparison prior art used to defend against infringement must be drawn from the same article of manufacture claimed in the design patent — prior art from a different type of product cannot be used to confuse the ordinary observ
The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB applied an unduly strict standard when it rejected Netflix’s analogous art argument in an IPR, ruling that petitioners need not perfectly articulate the ‘field of endeavor’ in magic words—what matters is whether the prior art reference and the
The Federal Circuit affirmed PTAB’s denial of a motion to amend patent claims in IPR, holding that proposed substitute claims were broader than original claims in at least some respects, and that claims broader in any respect cannot be substituted regardless of narrowing in others.
In a precedent-setting decision, the Federal Circuit held that patent term adjustments granted due to USPTO prosecution delays do not protect a later-expiring patent from obviousness-type double patenting challenges based on an earlier-expiring family member.
The Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB’s finding that Volvo Penta’s stern drive patent was obvious, holding that the Board improperly dismissed evidence of secondary considerations—including copying, commercial success, and industry praise—when competitors’ own recognition that the p
The Federal Circuit affirmed that IPR petitioner reply arguments expanding on cost and time savings as a motivation to combine were not impermissibly new—they properly responded to the patent owner’s opposition and were a fair extension of the efficiency rationale raised in the original petiti
The Federal Circuit vacated two PTAB decisions, holding that when a patent owner introduces a new claim construction for the first time in its post-institution response, the petitioner must be given a fair opportunity to introduce new arguments and evidence under that construction in its reply.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that United Therapeutics’ patents covering inhaled treprostinil for pulmonary hypertension satisfy enablement and written description requirements, holding that method-of-treatment claims need not separately address every disease variant in the specification.
The Federal Circuit held that patents governed exclusively by the America Invents Act cannot be drawn into interference proceedings—a landmark ruling that clarifies the divide between the old first-to-invent system and the modern first-inventor-to-file regime.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patents covering poll-based social networking systems—connecting users via polling questions on mobile devices—are directed to the abstract idea of ‘matching based on questioning’ and fail § 101 patent eligibility.