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Mealey's Patents

  • October 21, 2024

    Federal Circuit: More Claim Construction Needed In Patent Row Over Utility Lines

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Oct. 18 that a California federal judge wrongly dismissed a complaint stemming from a dispute over patents related to buried utility lines, holding that the judge must conduct a “fuller claim-construction analysis” to “determine the scope of the dispute claim language” for the plaintiff company’s claim of patent infringement.

  • October 18, 2024

    Federal Circuit Reverses Judge’s Dismissal Of Patent Suit Involving Debit Cards

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Connecticut was wrong to dismiss a patent owner’s complaint that it brought against a health care company for allegedly marketing Mastercard and VISA products that infringe its patent, a panel of judges in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held, saying the judge erred while reviewing “a license agreement and failed to take all of the complaint’s well-pled factual allegations as true.”

  • October 18, 2024

    Judge Approves Stay Of Patent Claims Over Neck Fan While Parties Prep Settlement

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois granted a joint motion from the holder of patents related to a fan device that hangs around a wearer’s neck and an electronics company it accused of infringing its patents to stay the infringement case while the parties prepare a stipulation for dismissal in the wake of a settlement agreement.

  • October 17, 2024

    Drone Maker’s 2nd Patent Infringement Suit Barred By Res Judicata

    SALT LAKE CITY — Granting a motion to dismiss by a drone technology firm, a Utah federal judge found that a second patent infringement lawsuit brought by a rival drone company was barred as impermissible claim splitting because the plaintiffs’ infringement claim over a third patent could have been brought in its nearly identical suit against the same defendant over the same technology.

  • October 17, 2024

    Federal Circuit Vacates Noninfringement Finding In Semiconductor Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 vacated a California federal judge’s finding of noninfringement in a patent dispute over a type of semiconductor light source, holding that the order was based on an improper term construction.

  • October 16, 2024

    Patent Holder’s Infringement Claims About Microscope Slides Survive Dismissal Bid

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal judge in Delaware denied a defendant laboratory company’s motion to dismiss a plaintiff patent holder’s infringement complaint against it, finding that the plaintiff company adequately substantiated its claim that the defendant infringed on patents related to the analysis of microscope slides to survive the motion.

  • October 16, 2024

    Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Patent Holder’s Suit Against Amazon

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Maryland was correct to dismiss a patent holder’s suit against Amazon.com Inc. and the home security technology company it owns, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 15, affirming both the judge’s finding that the patent holder brought his claims in an incorrect venue and that he failed to substantiate his claim of direct infringement.

  • October 15, 2024

    Parties In Neck Fan Patent Dispute Request Stay While Settlement Is Finalized

    CHICAGO — The holder of patents related to a fan device that hangs around a wearer’s neck and an electronics company it accused of infringing its patents filed a joint motion to stay the infringement case in Illinois federal court, indicating in their Oct. 14 motion that they had reached a settlement agreement.

  • October 15, 2024

    Federal Judge Dismisses Most Trademark, Patent Claims For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California dismissed most of the claims brought by a pro se plaintiff who accused a blind manufacturing company of infringing on marks he held, finding that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction or that the court was the appropriate venue.

  • October 15, 2024

    Researcher’s Contract Claims Over Penn’s Patent Policy Mostly Survive Dismissal

    PHILADELPHIA — A former University of Pennsylvania (Penn) employee’s claims over royalties to which she is purportedly entitled under the university’s patent policy because of her work on a gene therapy patent were largely deemed adequately alleged by a Pennsylvania federal judge, who found that additional information and discovery were necessary to further consider the university's statute of limitations and sufficiency of pleadings arguments.

  • October 11, 2024

    Federal Circuit Vacates Claim Construction, Summary Judgment, Fees In Patent Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Nevada erred in construing the claim “automatically detecting” in a patent dispute between two technology companies, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said Oct. 10; the panel reversed the entry of summary judgment of noninfringement in the defendant company’s favor and vacated the award of nearly $6.9 million in attorney fees.

  • October 11, 2024

    7th Circuit: New Issues On Appeal Doom Claims For Intellectual Property Royalties

    CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed an Indiana federal judge’s dismissal of a breach of contract suit brought by a plaintiff manufacturer who claimed that a defendant manufacturer allegedly failed to pay royalties for a lung-expansion therapy device required by a licensing agreement; the panel noted that the plaintiff company predicated its arguments on appeal on a new theory not raised before the district court.

  • October 08, 2024

    High Court Won’t Consider Manuals’ Exclusion From Prior Art Analysis

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a patent owner’s petition for a writ of certiorari, declining to hear arguments that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it held that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrongly found that manuals related to a meat and cheese slicer were not publicly available and that other prior art failed to disclose two limitations.

  • October 08, 2024

    Supreme Court Denies ‘Hypermedia’ Method Patent Owner’s Certiorari Petition

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a patent owner’s petition for a writ of certiorari, leaving in place a February decision from the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that upheld a California federal judge’s finding of ineligibility for the company’s patent related to a content distribution system.

  • October 08, 2024

    High Court Rejects Mud Flap Patent Owner’s Bid For Certiorari

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 rejected a patent owner’s bid for a writ of certiorari, declining to hear the man’s argument that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was wrong to uphold a Michigan federal judge’s finding that the man was not entitled to injunctive relief in a patent dispute over mud flaps for vehicles.

  • October 07, 2024

    U.S. Supreme Court Denies Certiorari In FCA Public Disclosure Bar Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a petition for certiorari filed by pharmaceutical companies seeking review of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that the public disclosure bar was not triggered in a case where it reversed a district court’s dismissal of a suit accusing the companies of violating the False Claims Act (FCA) by artificially inflating drug prices.

  • October 07, 2024

    Supreme Court Won’t Consider Effects Of Patent Term Adjustment On Viability

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a tech firm’s petition asking the high court to determine that a patent that has had its expiration extended under patent term adjustment (PTA) due to application delays by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) should not then be susceptible to findings of obviousness and invalidity.

  • October 04, 2024

    Federal Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment On Counterclaim In Crocs’ Patent Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Colorado was wrong to grant summary judgment in favor of Crocs Inc. on a counterclaim of false advertising brought by a defendant shoe company in a sprawling patent infringement case originally filed nearly two decades ago, a panel of the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held Oct. 3.

  • October 03, 2024

    Judge Dissolves TRO In Neck Fan Patent Suit, Denies Damages Motion

    CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge rejected a technology company’s motion to convert a temporary restraining order (TRO) against a company it accused of infringing patents related to a fan device that hangs around the wearer’s neck into a preliminary injunction; the judge also dissolved the TRO, holding that the patent holder did not establish a likelihood of success on its infringement claim.

  • October 03, 2024

    Federal Circuit Reverses Federal Judge’s Denial Of JMOL Motions In Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Missouri should have granted defendant companies’ motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and for a new trial on damages, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 2, holding that a plaintiff company’s infringement theory on patents related to meat and cheese slicers was based on allegations not in evidence.

  • October 02, 2024

    Judge OKs Preliminary Injunction In Patent Fight Over Wall Socket Cover

    MIAMI — A federal judge in Florida granted a plaintiff electrical appliance company’s motion for a preliminary injunction on the company’s claims that a defendant company violated its patent with an allegedly infringing wall socket organizer product, affirming a federal magistrate judge’s holding that the plaintiff company adequately displayed its likelihood of success on the merits.

  • September 30, 2024

    Judge Denies Alleged ‘Patent Troll’s’ Motion To Dismiss Valve’s Complaint

    SEATTLE — A federal judge in Washington said a video game company has shown that it had adequate reason to fear infringement claims would be brought by a man the company deems a “patent troll,” denying a motion from the man and entities he controls to dismiss the company’s complaint seeking a declaration invalidating one of the relevant patents.

  • September 26, 2024

    Federal Circuit Grants Google’s Petition For Rehearing Of Patent Dispute

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Sept. 25 that it will reconsider its June opinion leaving in place findings by a jury empaneled in a Texas federal court that Google LLC infringed smart thermostat technology to the tune of $20 million in damages owed to a patent owner, granting Google’s petition for en banc rehearing.

  • September 24, 2024

    Qualcomm’s Claims On Voltage Tracking Unpatentable, Federal Circuit Finds

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 23 affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that certain claims in Qualcomm Inc.’s patent relating to power tracking supply voltage are unpatentable as obvious; the panel also dismissed a cross-appeal from Intel Corp. to consider a finding that other claims were not obvious.

  • September 24, 2024

    Federal Circuit: Eye Syringe Claims From Novartis Are Unpatentable

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board was correct to hold that a pharmaceutical company’s claims related to a prefilled syringe for eye diseases were unpatentable, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal panel held Sept. 23, agreeing with the board that the claims are combinations of prior art references.