Under U.S. law, improved articles of manufacture may be patentable if they are novel and non-obvious. Sometimes, an inventor comes up with a new article that is faster, stronger, more flexible, more rigid, lighter, etc. by using new materials to make the
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Pros and Cons of Apparatus and Method of Use Claims Devices or apparatuses can often be protected by using two kinds of patent claims: apparatus and method of use claims. Each approach has its benefits and drawbacks. In general, apparatus claims expand
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Since we have been living with managed medical care for some time, many people have become accustomed to the idea that they need to act as their own advocate when dealing with medical professionals. Thus, we have become more comfortable with questioning
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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
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In an earlier blog post (https://hanseniplaw.com/what-limitations-are-there-on-the-breadth-of-otherwise-novel-and-non-obvious-patent-claims/) we addressed the question of whether and to what extent U.S. law limits the breadth of patent claims that are otherwise novel and non-obvious. As we explained, both the Written Description and Enablement requirements of U.S.
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In our experience, many patent cases are actually a tale of two cases: The case based on the patent holder’s interpretation and application of the claims and the case based on the accused infringer’s interpretation and application of the claims. Both cases
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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
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In a long-awaited decision in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., et al., the U.S. Supreme Court held on June 13, 2013 that naturally-occurring, isolated genes are not patentable because they do not constitute patentable subject matter under
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Well, we thought so, but now we are not so sure. It seems that the much more is required than the business method itself in order to obtain a patent. The cases suggest that, at a minimum, novel computing features are required.
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There has been a lot of discussion in the patent world recently about how to improve patent quality. Much of this discussion has been motivated or at least strongly influenced by the surge in patent litigation brought by “patent trolls.” As we
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