The Federal Circuit affirmed the validity of Amgen’s erythropoietin (EPO) patents covering recombinant human erythropoietin, finding the claims satisfied written description and enablement requirements, while remanding certain issues for further consideration.

The Federal Circuit sharply limited the common-law experimental use defense by holding that universities infringe patents when they use patented technology in their research programs, even without profit motive, because such use advances the university’s legitimate business objectives.

The Federal Circuit held that dictionaries, encyclopedias, and technical treatises are valuable starting points for determining the ordinary and customary meaning of patent claim terms, and should be consulted before examining the specification for limitations.

The Federal Circuit held that the written description requirement is separate from the enablement requirement and that a deposit of biological materials in a recognized depository can satisfy written description — setting an important standard for biotechnology patent claims directed to biological s

The Federal Circuit held that a farmer who saved patented Roundup Ready soybean seeds from his harvest and replanted them violated Monsanto’s patent rights, because patent exhaustion does not apply to seeds that were copied rather than purchased from the patentee.

The Federal Circuit affirmed invalidation of patents covering methods of preparing cruciferous sprout food products for cancer prevention, holding that the patents were anticipated because the glucosinolate content and Phase 2 enzyme-inducing properties of broccoli sprouts were inherent characterist

The Federal Circuit affirmed infringement of an offshore platform installation patent under the doctrine of equivalents but vacated the damages award, holding that all three damage models presented by the patentee’s expert were legally flawed because they based royalty calculations on the enti

The Federal Circuit held that a patent claiming the priority date of a provisional application is invalid under the on-sale bar if the provisional specification failed to adequately describe the claimed invention, because the patent cannot claim priority it did not earn.

The Federal Circuit held en banc that a patent’s reference to biological material deposited in a public repository satisfies the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112, reversing a panel decision that had threatened biotechnology patents relying on ATCC deposits.

The Federal Circuit held that a government laboratory researcher’s pre-critical-date demonstrations of his internet database system to colleagues without confidentiality restrictions triggered the public use bar, invalidating his patents.