The Business of Patents
What do you do when a rival sends you a cease and desist letter accusing you of patent infringement? If you said, “nothing,” that was the wrong answer. If you are eventually sued for infringement and you made no effort to investigate their claim and, if necessary, remedy your infringement, you could be found to […]
Read more →With the incredible advances in computing technology over the last 20 years has come a vast array of inventions that are implemented in some form of software. Smartphone apps, TV apps, manufacturing processes, facial recognition technology, artificial intelligence program, the list of products and processes that rely on some form of software is endless. Some […]
Read more →Patent cases are very discovery intensive, and many courts now have “patent local rules” that provide regulated process by which plaintiffs disclose their infringement contentions (i.e., explanations of why the defendant’s acts infringe the plaintiff’s patent) and by which defendants disclose their invalidity contentions (i.e., explanations of why the plaintiff’s patent claims are invalid). These […]
Read more →When drafting patent claims for a device, it is often desirable to describe the device based on how it works instead of how it is structured. Describing a device based on how it works is often referred to as “functional claiming.” Claims that make use of functional claiming are frequently broader in scope than those […]
Read more →On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., (Case No. 13-896, May 26, 2015). A copy of the slip opinion may be found here. Active Inducement of Infringement: A Good Faith Belief in Invalidity is Not a Defense U.S. Patent Law recognizes both direct […]
Read more →Last month, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion that could have a significant impact on patent owners who seek International Trade Commission (ITC) exclusion orders to block the importation of goods used to infringe their patents. In a 2-1 decision in Suprema, Inc. v. ITC, the Court held that the ITC cannot […]
Read more →On July 2, 2013 the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Fresenius USA v. Baxter International, Inc., Case. No. 2012-1334, 1335 (Fed. Cir. July 2, 2013), which enhances the ability of patent infringement defendants to invalidate patents via the ex parte reexamination process. The ex parte reexamination process allows anyone to ask […]
Read more →Patent holders can prove infringement by showing that each element of a claim is literally present in an accused infringer’s product or that those elements which are missing have an “equivalent.” The latter approach is permitted under what is known as the “doctrine of “equivalents.” There is something of a conundrum in the way the […]
Read more →When patent holders want to let someone know that they are infringing their patent(s), they often send what is known as a “cease and desist” letter. The letter usually mentions the patent number and the product the patent holder thinks is infringing and demands that you stop making, using, selling, or importing it, as […]
Read more →It is well-established that patent holders may not simply file patent infringement lawsuits in order to determine if a company may be infringing their patents. As interpreted by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that patent holders do the following prior to filing […]
Read more →On August 31, 2012, a sharply divided en banc Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Akami Technologies v. Limelight Networks. The case is significant in that it rewrites the rules for finding a party liable for inducing patent infringement. The case could have significant impact in the enforcement of business method and […]
Read more →When I talk to lawyers who do not practice patent law, they often speak of the complexity of patent cases in terms of the scientific or technological issues involved. What many of them fail to understand is that quite apart from the technology, the law itself is very complex. Lawyers and judges often have difficulty […]
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