Earlier this year, two new laws were enacted that impact patent listings in the Orange Book (drugs) and Purple Book (biologics). The Orange Book Transparency Act primarily codifies current FDA practices, but adds a new...more
The USPTO has issued a request for comments on proposed changes to requirements for admission to the patent bar. Last week I had an opportunity to speak with Commissioner for Patents Drew Hirshfeld, who currently is...more
In Chudik V. Hirshfeld, the Federal Circuit upheld the USPTO’s determination that a Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) award for “C” delay is not available when an examiner reopens prosecution after an Appeal Brief is filed,...more
As a non-precedential decision on claim construction, Horizon Pharma, Inc. v. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Inc., may not be relevant to any other case, but it caught my attention as an example of the perils of claim drafting....more
The doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting is one of the most complicated and most confounding aspects of U.S. patent law. Although a Terminal Disclaimer can overcome most obviousness-type double patenting rejections,...more
The Federal Circuit decision in GlaxoSmithKline LLC v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., is getting attention for potentially “endangering” the practice of skinny labelling. Indeed, the Federal Circuit held that Teva’s skinny...more
The USPTO has published proposed guidelines on the types of courses and activities that will qualify for USPTO CLE credit, which practitioners may voluntarily report in the mandatory biennial registration statements that will...more
In a decision that is not very surprising but nonetheless worth taking note of, the Federal Circuit found that a reasonable jury could have found claims reciting methods using a recombinant polypeptide to be anticipated by...more
The Federal Circuit decision in Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. 10X Genomics Inc., addresses several interesting issues. This article focuses on the affirmance of the district court decision that the “tangentiality” exception...more
In Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. v. Ono Pharm. Co., Ltd., the Federal Circuit agreed with the district court that two inventors should be added to a family of PD-1 cancer treatment patents, even though their...more
In Nike, Inc. v. Adidas, AG, the Federal Circuit held in the context of an Inter Partes Review proceeding that “[i]f the Board sua sponte identifies a patentability issue for a proposed substitute claim … it must provide...more
The USPTO has initiated a new pilot program for expediting ex parte appeals from examiner rejections. Under the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, applicants can pay $400 for expedited review in which case the USPTO will...more
In Biogen International GmbH v. Banner Life Sciences LLC, the Federal Circuit construed language of the Hatch-Waxman patent term extension statute in a manner Biogen argued was inconsistent with the “active moiety” focus of...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has extended the period for deferring certain deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) with important modifications. The most...more
In an effort to help independent inventors and small businesses bring “important and possibly life-saving treatments” to market more quickly, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is implementing the COVID-19...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched a new platform that could expedite the development of COVID-19 related technologies. As explained in the USPTO’s press release, the Patents 4 Partnerships...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has extended the period for deferring certain deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The relief still applies only to those...more
In CardioNet, LLC v. InfoBionic, Inc., the Federal Circuit found that the medical device claims at issue were “directed to” patent-eligible subject matter under 35 USC § 101. The district court had reached the opposite...more
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) has introduced legislation that would delay and then extend the term of patents related to the treatment of COVID-19. The “Facilitating Innovation to Fight Coronavirus Act” also would shield health...more
In Illumina, Inc. v. Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc., a divided panel of the Federal Circuit found claims directed to methods of preparing DNA samples for analysis satisfy the patent eligibility requirement of 35 USC § 101. Although...more
The Federal Circuit decision in HZNP Medicines LLC v. Horizon Pharma USA, Inc. is a good reminder that even standard “patent lingo” can cause trouble down the line. Now that the court has denied rehearing en banc (with Judges...more
As set forth in this March 2, 2020 Federal Register Notice and effective immediately, the USPTO is going to start inquiring into petitions to revive an abandoned application, accept a delayed maintenance fee payment, or...more
The January 29, 2020, Federal Circuit decision in Galderma Laboratories, L.P. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., is a non-precedential decision that was issued on the briefs (without oral argument), but is worth reviewing for...more
In Liqwd, Inc. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., the Federal Circuit vacated a decision of the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that failed to take into account evidence of copying in its obviousness analysis. The Federal...more
We previously discussed the new personalized medicine example in the USPTO’s October 2019 Patent Eligibility Guidance Update. Here, we look at the new nature-based product example, and consider how it may impact...more