Obviousness Under Chinese Patent Law
2.20.08 •The gap between the Chinese Patent Law and the United States patent law will widen after KSR v. Teleflex, unless the next amendment to the Chinese Patent Law adopts some significant changes.
FTC and DOJ Report on Antitrust and Intellectual Property
10.3.07 •An overview of the joint FTC/DOJ report, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition.
Failure to Update Examiner of Status of Related Applications May Result In Inequitable Conduct
9.6.07 •In McKesson Information Solutions, Inc. v. Bridge Medical, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit emphasized several categories of information that a patent prosecutor must disclose to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in order to satisfy a patent applicant’s duty of candor.
Steepening the Steps to the Courthouse
9.3.07 •On August 20, 2007, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overruled its Underwater Devices decision of 24 years ago to hold that a patent holder asserting willful infringement will now be required to show that an accused patent infringer recklessly disregarded that its conduct constituted infringement.
Teva v. Novartis:
Declarations of Patent Noninfringement and Invalidity
8.21.07 • A new Federal Circuit decision promises to lead to more patent suits between generic drug companies and pioneer drug companies.
KSR v. Teleflex in Brief
6.6.07 •In the unanimous decision of KSR v. Teleflex, the Supreme Court appears to have made it harder to defend a patent’s validity.
Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T in Brief
5.25.07 •In a 7-1 decision, the Supreme Court held the Patent Act does not extend to foreign
duplication of software in Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., decided April 30, 2007.
District Court Reactions to EchoStar
3.9.07 •The Federal Circuit’s landmark ruling in In re EchoStar Comm. Corp held that EchoStar’s reliance on in-house counsel acted as a waiver of certain attorney-client privelege protections. District courts have reacted to the ruling in a variety of ways.