NCube Corp. v. SeaChange Int’l, Inc. The Federal Circuit, in nCube Corporation v. SeaChange International, Inc., affirms the trial court’s denial of Judgement as a Matter of Law (JMOL) on literal infringement and willfulness, its award of enhanced damages and attorney fees, its grant of JMOL on the jury verdict of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, and its denial of […] Continue Reading →
Inherency and solving double-patenting In a recent case, the Federal Circuit explored how obviousness double patenting can be overcome and the concept of inherent anticipation. The patents at issue in Perricone v. Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. relate to methods of treating or preventing sunburns using topical creams composed of an ascorbyl fatty acid ester. One of the two patents asserted […] Continue Reading →
Once You Narrow, You Can For the second time, Norian Corp. v. Stryker Corp. came before the Federal Circuit. On the first appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment of non-infringement, which held was based on an unduly restrictive claim construction. On remand, the district court again entered summary judgment of non-infringement based on its […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit clarifies conception, appreciation In Invitrogen Corp. v. Clontech Laboratories, Inc., the Federal Circuit recently addressed what is required for an inventor to ‘conceive’ of his or her invention. The technology at issue relates to a modified version of reverse transcriptase produced by retroviruses. Unmodified reverse transcriptase facilitates reverse transcription, the production of DNA from RNA templates, and also […] Continue Reading →
Indefinite claims and attorney fees In IPXL Holdings, L.L.C. v. Amazon.com, Inc., the Federal Circuit addressed, as an issue of first impression, whether a patent claim may ever permissibly claim both an apparatus and a method for its use. Under Continue Reading →
Microstrategy loss hinged on expert witness In Microstrategy, Inc. v. Business Objects, S.A., the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld in part, and reversed in part, a decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The dispute between MicroStrategy and Business Objects primarily involved Microstategy’s U.S. Patent No. 6,260,050 (the ‘050 patent) and four business […] Continue Reading →
Claim construction affirmed, noninfringement judgment reversed What defines the term ‘removably attached’ when referring to a child’s safety seat? In a recent case, Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. v. Graco Children’s Products, Inc., the Federal Circuit agreed with a lower court that the seat did not have to be easily removable from its base, as that would add a limitation to the […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit reverses jury verdict of invalidity and non-infringement In Callicrate v. Wadsworth Manufacturing, Inc., the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a finding that the patent involved was invalid and not infringed. The technology at issue relates to mechanisms for castrating animals by preventing blood flow to the scrotum. The court found that the two disputed claim terms were misconstrued by the […] Continue Reading →
Inventive artists rewarded, on display Three drawings by young, local inventive artists have been selected as winners in the My Invention Drawing Contest sponsored by McKee, Voorhees & Sease. Grace Swihart of Prole, Iowa, won in the 5 to 8-year-old category. Her invention called ‘Rainbow Time’ incorporated a rainbow as a colorful alarm clock. Maya Hennessey of Des Moines, won […] Continue Reading →
UI law student chosen for MVS scholarship Jason Campbell, a second-year law student at the University of Iowa, was selected as the first recipient of the McKee, Voorhees & Sease Scholarship. Established in December, 2004, the scholarship is intended specifically for students pursuing careers in intellectual property law. Campbell, a graduate of Boone High School, received his baccalaureate degree in genetics from […] Continue Reading →