December 04, 2025
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Steuben Foods, Inc. (Steuben Foods) v. SHIBUYA HOPPMANN CORPORATION, SHIBUYA KOGYO CO., LTD., HP HOOD LLC (Shibuya)[1] provides useful guidance for patent practitioners seeking to invoke the rarely-applied defense of the reverse doctrine of equivalents (RDOE) and/or apply the doctrine of equivalents (DOE) in view of a stipulated contrary… Read more »
October 13, 2025
On October 8, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office announced the Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) Program—a new initiative designed to evaluate how sharing automated pre-examination search results can improve patent quality and streamline prosecution. The program will begin accepting petitions on October 20, 2025, and represents the USPTO’s integration of artificial… Read more »
September 15, 2025
The Federal Circuit in United Therapeutics v. Liquidia affirmed a Delaware court’s ruling that Liquidia’s NDA for Yutrepia™ would infringe United Therapeutics’ patents, although one (the ’066 patent) fell on anticipation grounds. The court underscored three familiar principles: (1) safety and efficacy belong to the FDA, not the USPTO; (2) product-by-process claims rise or fall… Read more »
August 29, 2025
On January 19, 2025, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced new fees under 37 CFR § 1.17(w) that apply to continuing applications filed long after the original benefit date. The USPTO now charges an additional fee if you file a continuing application more than six or nine years after the earliest benefit… Read more »
April 28, 2025
The Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the Central California District Court’s summary judgement in Core Optical v Nokia after finding that the colloquial phrase of “one’s own time” in an employment agreement is not an unambiguous term as it relates to employer-sponsored research programs.[1] Core Optical sued Nokia for infringement of US Patent No. 6,782,211,… Read more »
April 07, 2025
Amarin Pharma, Inc. v. Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc: Turning Ballyhoo[1] into Boo Hoo In Amarin Pharma v. Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc[2]., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court’s dismissal of Amarin Pharma, Inc.’s complaint alleging that generic drug company Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. induced infringement of two of its patents… Read more »
March 24, 2025
In Miller Mendel, Inc. v. City of Anna, Texas, the Federal Circuit ruled that claims directed to a software system for managing pre-employment background investigations were ineligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. [1] Miller Mendel sued the City of Anna, Texas, for infringement of US Patent No. 10,043,188, which describes a software… Read more »
December 04, 2024
In Cooperative Entertainment Inc. v. Kollective Technology the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court’s dismissal of patent owner’s complaint on the basis that all claims of US 9,432,452 were patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The CAFC reasoned that the patent describes “several alleged inventive concepts which the specification… Read more »
August 21, 2024
“If a patent claims an entire class of processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter, the patent’s specification must enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the entire class. In other words, the specification must enable the full scope of the invention as defined by its claims. The more one claims,… Read more »
July 18, 2024
“The name of the game is the claim,” wrote Giles Rich, the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit at the time of this comment.[1] Whether or not this pithy aphorism remains true in other aspects of patent law, it has become clear that in the realm of Subject Matter Eligibility, the story told by the… Read more »
