The January 2009 newsletter presents concise summaries of important developments in U.S. patent law occurring during the month of December, 2008. Developments include:

1) Federal Circuit grants mandamus reversing a denial of a motion to transfer by E.D. Texas;

2) Unresolved preliminary injunction motion prohibits staying case pending reexamination; stay requires continued existence of a “substantial question of patentability”;

3) Patentee’s selling a product in a forum does not support specific personal jurisdiction for an accused infringer’s declaratory judgment claim;

4) Patents held unenforceable for patentee’s deliberate failure to disclose patents to standard setting organization;

5) Adding a separate and distinct noninfringing feature does not avoid contributory infringement liability;

6) Granting licenses did not defeat permanent injunction;

7) Waiver found where intervening change in law arose before entry of final judgment;

8) Federal Circuit claim construction rulings;

9) Federal Circuit applies Bilski in biotech case;

10) Grouping claims requires a common limitation;

11) Patent-law expert could not testify on infringement or invalidity;

12) District court requires parties to show need for claim construction on a term-by-term basis;

13) Claim that licensee’s product was “covered by” a foreign patent could be heard in a U.S. court;

14) Ownership of an “essential” patent showed market power for antitrust claim; and

15) Western District of Washington and District of Massachusetts adopt local patent rules.