The Federal Circuit held that the on-sale bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) applies when an inventor contracts with a third-party supplier to mass-produce the invention commercially, rejecting any “supplier exception” to the statutory bar.
The Federal Circuit reversed a judgment of invalidity for lack of enablement, holding that a patent on a recombinant method for producing human growth hormone (hGH) was adequately enabled even though the process predominantly produced met-hGH (containing an extra methionine residue) rather than matu
The Federal Circuit vacated summary judgment and remanded for trial, holding that splitting a claimed unitary structure into two separate components may constitute infringement under the doctrine of equivalents even when the literal claim requirement for a single integrated piece is not met.
The Federal Circuit reversed a summary judgment of invalidity for indefiniteness, reaffirming that claims are sufficiently definite under § 112 if a person skilled in the art would understand the bounds of the claim when read in light of the specification — close questions of claim construction do n
The Federal Circuit held that refurbishing single-use cameras originally sold in the United States is permissible repair, not patent infringement, because patent rights are exhausted by the first authorized U.S. sale.
The Federal Circuit vacated summary judgment of non-infringement, holding that “point-of-sale location” in an e-commerce patent should not be limited to a traditional physical retail store and could include a consumer’s home when used as the end-point for electronic content deliver
The Federal Circuit held that the on-sale bar under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) is triggered only by a communication that rises to the level of a commercial offer for sale under the Uniform Commercial Code, not by mere negotiations or demonstrations.
The Federal Circuit vacated summary judgment of non-infringement, holding that the district court improperly imported a structural limitation (a “ledge”) from the patent drawings into a broader claim term (“angular medial surface”), and clarified when a patentee’s pre-s
The Federal Circuit held that process patent infringement under § 271(g) requires the patent to be issued at the time the accused process is performed; pre-issuance use cannot infringe.
The Federal Circuit held that a key Eli Lilly patent covering the method of using fluoxetine (Prozac) was invalid for obviousness-type double patenting, opening the door for generic competition with the world’s best-selling antidepressant years ahead of schedule.