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Mealey's Patents

  • July 26, 2024

    Evidence Supports Verdict That Can Patents Were Anticipated, Federal Circuit Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in denying a motion for a judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) because substantial evidence supported a jury’s finding that beverage can patents were anticipated by a previous patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found July 25 in affirming the trial court’s judgment.

  • July 25, 2024

    PTAB Panel Says Claims For Monoclonal Antibody Implant Were Not Obvious

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner failed to show that claims for an implant that releases a monoclonal antibody tissue to treat macular degeneration were obvious in light of prior art because the examiner failed to show that a combination of the prior art would result in the same type of continuous release describes by the patent claims at issue, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found July 24.

  • July 25, 2024

    Federal Circuit: PTAB Did Not Err In Crediting 1 Expert’s Testimony Over Another

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a dispute over two virtual network patents, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in crediting the testimony of one expert over another when it found, in two final written decisions, that the patents at issue were not obvious in light of prior art, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the decisions on July 24.

  • July 24, 2024

    Majority Of UGG Patent And Trade Dress Claims Will Continue In N.Y. Federal Court

    NEW YORK — The designer of UGG brand footwear successfully pleaded the majority of its claims against a rival company that is allegedly infringing upon its design patents and trade dress, a New York federal judge found in partly granting the rival companies’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.

  • July 23, 2024

    Tech Giants Can’t Convince Federal Circuit To Reverse PTAB Touch-Screen Decisions

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In two separate opinions, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in ruling that patent infringement claims arising from touch-sensitive user interfaces and brought against Samsung, Apple and Google were not obvious in light of various prior art.

  • July 23, 2024

    Federal Circuit Says Patent Appeals Are Moot In Light Of District Court Order

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found that two appeals regarding wireless earphone patents are moot because the assignee of the patents failed to appeal a federal trial court order holding that the patent claims at issue were invalid in a separate case.

  • July 19, 2024

    In Dispute Over Memory Chip Patents, Calif. Federal Judge Dismisses Counterclaims

    SAN FRANCISCO — A manufacturer of flash memory chips failed to properly allege its counterclaims of direct and induced patent infringement against a rival chip maker because it failed to include sufficient factual allegations to support the claims, a California federal judge found in granting the rival’s motion to dismiss the counterclaims.

  • July 18, 2024

    Inventor Fails To Persuade PTAB Panel That Liquid Cleaning Method Is Not Obvious

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in finding that a method for cleaning comestible liquids using electricity was obvious in light of prior art because the inventor of the method failed to show that the prior art was not analogous, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings on July 17.

  • July 18, 2024

    District Court Has Authority To Investigate Party Misconduct In Patent Cases

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in ordering a woman to appear at an in-person hearing and holding her in civil contempt after she failed to do so because the court has inherent authority to investigate litigation misconduct allegedly carried out by the woman, the companies she manages and her attorneys in numerous patent infringement cases, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.

  • July 17, 2024

    Federal Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Order In Medical Device Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — Summary judgment was appropriately granted in a patent infringement dispute over a medical device used for hemodialysis because the patent owner failed to present factual evidence from which a reasonable juror could have found that the product in question infringed upon the patent, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found July 16.

  • July 16, 2024

    PTAB Panel Reverses Examiner’s Rejection Of Robot Gripping Method

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner erred in rejecting patent claims for a method of optimizing an automated process used to allow robots to grip objects from a conveyor belt because the references cited by the examiner failed to identify two specific elements of the method, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board panel found in reversing the examiner’s findings on July 15.

  • July 15, 2024

    Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB’s Obviousness Finding In Dispute Over Agricultural Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in finding that a patent for counteracting certain biological processes in plants was obvious because it adequately showed that all aspects of the patent were disclosed in prior art, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found July 12 in affirming the PTAB’s final written decision.

  • July 15, 2024

    In Stem Cell Patent Dispute, More Facts Needed About Medical-Practitioner Immunity

    FORT WORTH, Texas — The operator of two medical clinics where adipose-deprived stem cell therapies are performed is not entitled to medical-practitioner immunity from patent infringement claims at this stage because multiple questions of facts and law must be determined before such a determination can be made, a Texas federal judge found in denying the operator’s motion to dismiss.

  • July 12, 2024

    Developer Of Pokémon Go Gets Summary Judgment In Augmented-Reality Patent Case

    SAN FRANCISCO — The developer of Pokémon Go and another augmented-reality (AR) video game is entitled to summary judgment on claims of patent infringement brought against it by the owner of an AR patent because the patent claims are not patent eligible, a California federal judge found in granting the developer’s motion for summary judgment.

  • July 12, 2024

    Pesticide Manufacturer Fails To Get Restraining Order Or Injunction In Patent Case

    PHILADELPHIA — A pesticide manufacturer is not entitled to a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction because it failed to show that it is likely to succeed on the patent infringement claims it brought against a competitor, a Pennsylvania federal judge found in denying the manufacturer’s request for injunctive relief.

  • July 11, 2024

    Patent Claims For Fibromyalgia Treatment Method Were Not Obvious, PTAB Panel Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner erred in rejecting as obvious a patent application for a fibromyalgia treatment that uses an antihistamine because the examiner failed to show that the referenced prior arts taught that the disease is induced by histamine, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PATB) panel found in reversing the examiner’s rejection.

  • July 10, 2024

    Maker Of Body-Contouring Devices Gets Default Judgment In Patent And Trademark Row

    NEW YORK — The manufacturer of body-contouring machines is entitled to default judgment and damages on its claims of patent infringement, trademark infringement and unfair competition brought against a salon that advertises nearly identical machines because it properly alleged and substantiated its claims, a New York federal judge found in granting the manufacturer’s motion for default judgment.

  • July 10, 2024

    Patent Examiner Failed To Show Prior Arts Taught Or Suggested Wind Energy System

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner erred in rejected a patent application for a wind energy system that connects wind turbines to a cable network that transmits power generated by the wind turbines because the examiner failed to show how prior arts taught or suggested the specific system, a Patent Trial and Appeal Board panel found in reversing the examiner’s rejection.

  • July 09, 2024

    In Financial Patent Dispute, N.J. Federal Judge Issues Claim Construction Order

    TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge constructed the meaning of six patent terms in a dispute over whether a financial services company’s website infringed two patents that disclose a method for online currency transactions.

  • July 08, 2024

    Electronic Document Signature Is Not A Patentable Idea, Federal Circuit Rules

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal trial court did not err in finding that a system and method for embedding a written signature into a secure electronic document is unpatentable because the idea is directed to an abstract idea and fails to contain and inventive concept, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel found in affirming the trial court’s judgment.

  • July 01, 2024

    COMMENTARY: Non-Competes No More? What Businesses Should Do To Protect Trade Secrets And Confidential Information Now

    By Geri Haight and Danielle Bereznay

  • July 03, 2024

    PTAB Panel Agrees With Examiner That Cancer Treatment Method Was Obvious

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in finding that a method for treating cancer was obvious in light of two previous publications because the publications described methods for treating different types of cancers with similar compounds, a Patent and Trademark Office panel found in affirming the examiner’s rejection of the patent application on July 2.

  • July 03, 2024

    Wooden Liquor Barrel Was Anticipated By Older Patent, Split Board Panel Finds

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A patent examiner did not err in rejecting a patent application for a wooden liquor bottle that ages liquor by allowing gas to flow into it because a previous patent for a wooden demijohn anticipated the claimed invention, the majority of a Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) panel found in affirming the examiner’s findings on July 2.

  • July 01, 2024

    Patent Board Agrees With Examiner That Watermelon Popsicles For Dogs Are Obvious

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In light of two former patents, a patent application and an online recipe, a Patent Trial and Appeals Board panel agreed in a June 28 opinion with a patent examiner’s findings that a patent application describing electrolyte-replenishing, watermelon-based popsicles for dogs was obvious.

  • June 28, 2024

    High Court Overrules Chevron Deference, Changes Standard For Regulatory Review

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 voted 6-3 to overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference as incompatible with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations, changing governing precedent for federal courts reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions.