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Mealey's Patents

  • December 09, 2025

    U.S. Government Tells High Court To Hear Fight Over ‘Skinny Label’ Infringement

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an amicus curiae brief, the U.S. government tells the U.S. Supreme Court that it should take up a bioequivalent drug manufacturer’s petition for a writ of certiorari because the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ finding that the petitioner’s “skinny label” generic version of a prescription cardiovascular medication constituted reverse infringement is at odds with the intention behind carve-outs under the Hatch-Waxman Act.

  • December 08, 2025

    High Court Rejects Bid To Consider Federal Circuit 1st Impression AI Patent Ruling

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 8 rejected a machine learning patent holder’s petition for a writ of certiorari in which the company contended that the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling on a matter of first impression that affirmed the invalidation of the patents for describing the abstract concept of machine learning without pointing to specific improvements was erroneous; the company told the high court that the Federal Circuit’s approach to patent eligibility “flouts this Court’s instruction to consider preemption.”

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Judge Wrong To Toss Meta Patent Row Without Claim Construction

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a Dec. 5 opinion, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a Texas federal judge’s dismissal of an advertising technology company’s patent infringement suit against Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the dismissal hinged on a premature resolution of a disputed claim construction in Meta’s favor and a failure to credit the plaintiff-appellant’s factual allegations.

  • December 08, 2025

    Federal Circuit: PTAB Wrongly Found Apple Failed To Explain Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel largely affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) findings of unpatentability of some computer file organization patent claims and patentability of other claims all challenged by Apple Inc.; however, the panel found in its Dec. 5 nonprecedential opinion that PTAB abused its discretion in finding that one of Apple’s petitions was not adequately explained.

  • December 04, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Cancer Treatment Patent Not Properly Enabled Or Disclosed

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A biopharmaceutical company’s patent on a cancer therapy called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) is invalid for lack of written description and lack of enablement, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held in two opinions that reversed a Texas federal judge’s refusal to grant judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) to defendant biopharmaceutical entities and dismissed as moot a related appeal of a U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruling.

  • December 02, 2025

    Federal Circuit Rejects Challenge To Reexamination Of Expired Patent

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel once again ruled against a technology company on Dec. 1, affirming a finding of the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that certain claims of the company’s patent describing a handheld device using a camera to receive gesture-based inputs are invalid as anticipated; the panel also dismissed the company’s appeal in part related to other patent claims that the appellate court had already held to be invalid.

  • November 26, 2025

    Federal Circuit Says ‘Best’ Claim Limitation Invalid As Indefinite

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 25 affirmed a California federal judge’s finding that some claims in patents describing systems for routing streamed content over the internet were invalid as indefinite and likewise affirmed findings that the technology company’s products did not meet a claim limitation required by the patents at issue.

  • November 26, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms Fees, Sanctions In ‘Frivolous’ Patent Infringement Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 25 affirmed a California federal judge’s decision to order more than $250,000 in attorney fees and additional sanctions against a company that sued Google LLC for allegedly infringing a patent on a system that allows musical artists to remotely update an album already on a user’s device.

  • November 26, 2025

    Dismissal Recommended After Patent Plaintiff Fails To Appear For Bench Trial

    NEW YORK — A federal magistrate judge in New York recommended that a patent plaintiff’s complaint against Google LLC be dismissed with prejudice after the man failed to appear at an October evidentiary bench trial on infringement claims he brought against the technology company; the plaintiff has “repeatedly claimed” that the magistrate judge “had no authority to conduct a bench trial without his consent,” the magistrate judge wrote.

  • November 25, 2025

    No New Trial For Coal Company Found To Infringe Emissions Patent

    WILMINGTON, Del. — A federal magistrate judge in Delaware denied a motion for a new trial from affiliated coal companies that a jury held willfully infringed another energy company’s patents on the use of chemical additives to capture mercury emissions at coal-fired power plants, leaving in place the jury’s award of more than $57 million to the plaintiff company; the magistrate judge said the defendant entities “rehash[ed]” arguments already rejected in an earlier denial of judgment as a matter of law.

  • November 25, 2025

    Federal Circuit Affirms Tossing Of Man’s 3rd ‘Frivolous’ Suit Against PTO

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 24 affirmed a Virginia federal judge’s dismissal of claims that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) engaged in fraud to deny a pro se appellant’s patent applications, noting that it is the third time the appeals court has considered “frivolous” claims from the appellant.

  • November 24, 2025

    Supreme Court Denies Bid To Hear Patent Owner’s Negative Limitation Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a pro se patent owner’s petition for a writ of certiorari in an order list on Nov. 24, leaving in place a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals opinion that affirmed a finding that multiple claims of the petitioner’s patent were invalid in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Apple Inc.

  • November 24, 2025

    Split Federal Circuit: PTAB Rightly Found Samsung Raised New IPR Arguments

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A split Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) decision to uphold the validity of a technology company’s patents on stylus-based inputs for mobile devices; the majority agreed with PTAB that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and an affiliate improperly introduced a new obviousness theory in a reply during inter partes review (IPR).

  • November 21, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Wrong Construction Of Bot Detection Claim Leads To PTAB Reversal

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 20 held that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) wrongly construed the claim term “acquiring interest data” when considering the patentability of a claim phrase in a patent describing a system to determine if a computer is being used by a human or a “bot”; under the correct construction, the panel held that the claim is anticipated by a prior art reference.

  • November 20, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Claim Construction Correct In Railcar Patent Row

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Oregon federal magistrate judge properly granted summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of defendant railcar manufacturers in a dispute over patents related to railroad gondola cars because the accused cars lacked a required “floor panel extension” as defined by the patents, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Nov. 19.

  • November 19, 2025

    Federal Circuit: Jury Should Have Found Eyelash Med Patent Claim Invalid

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel said on Nov. 18 that a generic drug maker “has overcome the doubly high burden of persuading us to overturn a jury verdict of no invalidity” in a dispute over a patent relating to a medication for eyelash growth, reversing a Colorado federal jury’s infringement finding and $39 million in damages.

  • November 18, 2025

    Federal Circuit Points To Weakness Of Claims In Affirming Patent Row Fees

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Tennessee federal judge’s decision to grant more than $100,000 in attorney fees to a small grocery chain, finding no abuse of discretion in the judge’s finding that a plaintiff security technology company had a pattern of bringing frivolous patent infringement claims.

  • November 18, 2025

    Judge Used Wrong Standard To Exclude Patent Evidence, Federal Circuit Says

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held that a new trial is needed on damages in a dispute over a patent describing a type of self-balancing unicycle, agreeing with the defendant-appellant companies that a Washington federal judge wrongly excluded evidence of noninfringing substitutes.

  • November 17, 2025

    Supreme Court Rejects Cases Asking If PTAB Can Review Expired Patents

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 17 rejected a patent-holding company’s petitions for writs of certiorari in disputes with Apple Inc., Google LLC, LG Electronics Inc. and an affiliate over multiple technology patents, declining to take up the company’s arguments regarding the constitutionality of inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

  • November 14, 2025

    Federal Circuit Undoes Infringement Findings For School Bus Sign Patents

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Michigan wrongly construed the term “transparency” in an infringement dispute concerning patents related to a school bus sign, and it was unreasonable for a jury to find infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Nov. 13; the panel reversed an infringement judgment as to one of the patents and vacated the infringement finding as to the other.

  • November 13, 2025

    Clerical Error Justifies Judicial Correction Of Patent, Federal Circuit Holds

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Texas federal judge erred in finding that claims in an oil technology company’s patent describing a tool used in oil wells were invalid as indefinite, a Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Nov. 12; the panel found that the judge was wrong to reject the patent holder’s argument that the representative claim contained a “‘clear clerical’” error that the company argued was obviously corrected elsewhere in the patent in a way that would have been understood by a person of skill in the relevant art.

  • November 12, 2025

    Federal Circuit Rejects Bid To Reinstate Patent Verdict Against AT&T, Nokia

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied a plaintiff-appellee’s petition for reconsideration of its September decision vacating a jury’s $166 million verdict against AT&T Mobility LLC and Nokia of America Corp. in its favor, rejecting the company’s contention that the panel wrongly read the evidence in the case.

  • November 12, 2025

    Entresto Maker Tells Supreme Court Not To Take Up Patent Validity Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The owner of the patent for heart medication Entresto tells the U.S. Supreme Court that it should reject a petition for a writ of certiorari from a generic drugmaker, contending that there was no error in the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal of invalidity because its patent was properly enabled.

  • November 12, 2025

    Split Federal Circuit Says PTAB Lacked Evidence For Obviousness Finding

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel split in one of two related appeals, upholding some findings by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that claims in a technology company’s patent describing a biometric payment card security system were unpatentable as obvious but reversing as to other claims; the panel majority wrote that PTAB lacked substantial evidence to support its construction of a disputed claim phrase involving where the described device stores data in memory.

  • November 11, 2025

    Altria Says ITC’s Vape Patent Investigation Is Unconstitutional

    RICHMOND, Va. — Tobacco company Altria Group Inc., its vape subsidiary NJOY LLC and affiliates filed a complaint in Virginia federal court and a motion seeking to enjoin an International Trade Commission investigation into certain vape products based on a patent-related complaint by Juul Labs Inc. (JLI), writing that the ITC proceeding is unconstitutional and violates the company’s right to a jury trial under SEC v. Jarkesy.