The Federal Circuit follows regional circuit law to decide district judge reassignment on remand Microsoft Corporation (‘Microsoft’) petitioned the Federal Circuit to have its remanded patent infringement case with Eolas Technologies (‘Eolas’) reassigned to a different district court judge. The Federal Circuit granted Microsoft’s petition to appeal the district court’s denial and reversed the district court’s denial to reassign the case.On remand to the Northern District of Illinois, the […] Continue Reading →
Reopening a Case: Loss of License Not Enough In a recent Federal Circuit case, the court addressed if a patent licensor can alter the judgment in a settled case when the settlement agreement is rendered meaningless by the licensees’ subsequent bankruptcy. Specifically, a mattress manufacturer, Louisville Bedding had sued competitor, Pillowtex, for infringing a patent on a mattress pad having a stretchable skirt […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit examines ‘commercial activity’ exception to foreign sovereign immunity On July 14, 2006, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision of the District Court for the Northern District of California that refused to dismiss a declaratory judgment suit for non-infringement and invalidity of a patent for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Intel Corporation and Dell Inc., along with Microsoft, HP and Netgear, filed suit against […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit applies interference time limits The Federal Circuit recently decided an issue regarding in an interference proceeding between The University of California against The University of Iowa. Iowa holds a patent on a method of minimizing allergic reactions in subjects exposed to allergens. California had a pending application dealing with related technology. Seven months after the Iowa patent issued, California […] Continue Reading →
Concealment judgement requires ‘designed intent to withhold’ In a recent case, the Federal Circuit discussed the requirements to distinguish concealment of an invention in violation of the patent laws. The patents at issue related to keyboard positioning systems, one in particular that allowed users to adjust a keyboard to a backward tilted position.One patent covered a clamping system to hold the keyboard […] Continue Reading →
The Federal Circuit defines implied licenses and examines exhaustion doctrine LG Electronics (‘LGE’) sued BizCom Electronics and other defendants (collectively ‘BizCom’), alleging infringement of its patents relating to personal computers.BizCom purchases microprocessors and chipsets to install into computers from distributors such as Intel. Intel is licensed by LGE to sell the product under an agreement which informs buyers that they are not authorized to combine […] Continue Reading →
Copyright fees to increase The U.S. Copyright Office plans to increase basic registration fees to $45 per application effective July 1, 2006. Fees likely to change include registrations, document recordation, supplementary registration, search services, certificates, and additional certificates. Any request received in the U.S. Copyright Office on or after July 1, 2006, for a service whose fee is scheduled […] Continue Reading →
Get Your Patent Faster In hopes of relieving some of the backlog at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a new ‘fast-track’ procedure offers patent applicants a 12-month turn around in the patent examiner’s final decision. However, there are a few extra steps that potential patent holders will have to take in order to be eligible for […] Continue Reading →
Inequitable Conduct Case not Necessarily for Jury Agfa Corporation (‘Agfa’) sued Creo Products (‘Creo’) for infringement of a patent covering a large scale printing system. As a defense, Creo asserted that Agfa’s patents were unenforceable due to inequitable conduct. Creo alleged that Agfa failed to disclose at least three material prior art systems during prosecution. The trial court determined that the issue […] Continue Reading →
Write Broad Disclosures to Avoid Discouraging Language June 22, 2006 – The Federal Circuit determined that the Honeywell, the holders of Patent No. 5,164,879 purposefully limited the scope of the claims thereby relieving rival ITT of patent infringement accusations.The claim in dispute related to a new fuel filter technology. Traditionally, car fuel filters were made with a polymer housing, however, after the […] Continue Reading →