Real estate developers have long had ample reasons to take on projects involving historic buildings, courtesy of Section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. As amended, Section 47 (the “Code”) provides for a...more
In INVT SPE LLC v. ITC, the Federal Circuit affirmed an International Trade Commission (ITC) decision that held INVT’s patent claims were not essential to the LTE cellular communications standard. According to the court, INVT...more
The New Jersey Economic Recovery Act of 2020, a seven-year, $14 billion package of incentive programs intended to encourage New Jersey job growth, property development and redevelopment, community partnerships, and numerous...more
On May 21, 2020, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) released proposed regulations (the proposed regulations)* regarding the new five-year credit period for the historic rehabilitation tax credit (HTC) under Section 47...more
Addressing the scope of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“Board”) discretion under 35 U.S.C. § 325(d) to deny institution, the Board designated three opinions as precedential or informative. Precedential Opinions: In...more
Addressing the scope of its discretion to institute or deny a petition under 35 USC §§ 314(a) and 325(d), the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) designated as precedential two recent decisions denying institution of inter...more
A recent decision in the Eastern District of Texas should provide standard-essential patent (“SEP”) owners with more clarity and optimism when negotiating SEP licenses. Coming on the heels of Judge Koh’s decision in the FTC’s...more
Following the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) recent wave of decisions designated precedential or informative, the USPTO added two more decisions to the list last week: Valve Corp. v. Elec. Scripting...more
Summary: The General Plastic factors used to determine whether the PTAB will exercise its discretion to deny a follow-on IPR petition can weigh against institution even if the follow-on petition is filed by a different party....more
On February 15, a Texas federal jury found that Ericsson did not breach its obligation to offer HTC licenses to its standard-essential patents (SEPs) on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The verdict ended...more
The Federal Circuit issued a trio of decisions this month further clarifying the application of the patent venue statute in the post-TC Heartland era. ...more
What is the difference between an employment agreement that says “I hereby assign inventions I create during my employment to my employer,” and one that says “I will assign inventions I create during my employment to my...more
Patent owners and employers: Pay attention to the words in assignment and employment agreements that transfer patent ownership to you. A recent Federal Circuit case once again emphasizes the need to use particular language to...more
The U.S. House and Senate have now each passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R.1) and have sent the bill to President Trump’s desk for final passage. The final bill is expected to cost nearly $1.5 trillion over the next ten...more
The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (the Act) has passed both chambers of Congress and is expected to be signed by President Trump on or before January 3, 2018. The final agreement among House and Senate Republicans includes rate...more
California Appellate Court Overturns “Sham Guaranty” Defense - The single-purpose entity (SPE) has become a ubiquitous tool in commercial real estate acquisitions and financing in California. Lenders increasingly require...more
On Tuesday, June 22, in the case of Immersion Corporation v. HTC, The Federal Circuit on appeal reversed a decision by the Delaware district court, which had held a patent granted on a continuation application to be invalid...more
The Federal Circuit decided not to disturb the “longstanding administrative construction” of 35 USC § 120 that permits the filing of a continuation application on the same day its parent application grants as a patent. The...more
Procrastinating patent prosecution attorneys took notice when Delaware District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews threw out the longstanding accepted practice that a continuation application may be filed on the issue date of a...more
After reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its ninth annual list of top patent stories. For 2015, we identified twenty stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe...more
FEDERAL CIRCUIT CASES - Akin Gump Wins Summary Judgment of Non-Infringement - Akin Gump obtained a significant victory on summary judgment for HTC and AT&T in a patent infringement case against Adaptix, Inc., an...more