Federal Circuit again decides inequitable conduct issue In Atofina v. Great Lakes Chemical Company, the Federal Circuit considered the issues of inequitable conduct, anticipation, and, like most appeals, claim construction. Atofina owns U.S. Patent No. 5,900,514, which relates to a method of synthesis of difluoromethane using, among other things, a chromium catalyst. Great Lakes produced difluoromethane using a mixed metal catalyst that […] Continue Reading →
The Patentee is Free to Act as His Own Lexicographer In Harold Schoenhaus and Richard M. Jay v. Genesco, Inc., the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment of non-infringement to defendants Genesco. At issue was a patent entitled ‘Dynamic Stabilizing Inner Sole System’ for an orthotic device for preventing hyperpronation of a human foot. Co-inventors of this ‘052 patent are Drs. […] Continue Reading →
Law suit threat determined to be insufficient to give court jurisdiction The Federal Circuit court of appeals recently addressed the issue of whether the threat that a supplier’s customers may be sued for patent infringement can support jurisdiction in federal courts to consider the validity of the patents at issue when the supplier itself cannot be sued for infringement. In Microchip Technology Inc. v. Chamberlain Group, […] Continue Reading →
Copyright, design patent tests send case back to court The case of two opposing furniture manufacturers vying over copyright and design patent rights has been remanded back to district court. On March 3, 2006, The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment and remanded the case of Amini Innovation Corp v. Anthony California, Inc. back to the District Court. The […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit urges caution in making inequitable conduct determination at summary judgment stage In M. Eagles Tool Warehouse, Inc. (d/b/a S&G Tool Aid Corp.) v. Fisher Tooling Company, Inc. (d/b/a Astro Pneumatic Tool Co.), the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of S&G’s motion for summary judgment of inequitable conduct. It determined that there was no convincing evidence of an intent to engage in inequitable conduct demonstrated […] Continue Reading →
MVS secures reversal in summary judgment On Feb. 22, 2006, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a summary judgment order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in the case of Hicklin Engineering v. R.J. Bartell and R.J. Bartell and Associates after finding that there remained a question of fact for the […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court speaks out on tie-in products The Supreme Court of the United States continued its recent foray into patent law when the court rejected the presumption that market power is granted to a patent holder when sale of their patented product is tied with a non Continue Reading →
Product-by-process claims defined in earlier patent to same product Product-by-process claims defined in earlier patent to same productIn a recent decision, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals clarified its position regarding the patentability of product-by-process claims. These types of claims permit an inventor to claim a product that is otherwise unable to be explained by describing it in terms of […] Continue Reading →
Court relies on tests to affirm infringement The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court holding in Lawman Armor Corp. v. Winner International stating that U.S. Design Patent No. 357,621 (the ‘621 patent’) was not infringed. The Federal Circuit court found that each of the alleged ‘points of novelty’ of the ‘621 patented design was disclosed […] Continue Reading →
Specification is the Best Guide to the Meaning of a Claim Term In Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Corp. v. Velan, Inc., the Federal Circuit determined the district court erred in its construction of the term ‘adjustable’ and subsequently vacated the district court’s preliminary injunction, remanding the matter. At issue was a Curtiss-Wright patent (”714′) which claimed a system and method for de-heading coke drums without manually removing the […] Continue Reading →