On appeal from an interference proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board decision that found the claims of the senior party’s patent were not invalid as time-barred...more
On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Roberts v. Gestamp West Virginia, LLC, that an employer’s “usual and customary” notice procedures relating to absences extended beyond the company’s...more
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals (WVSCA) issued a new ruling in Fairmont Tool Inc. v. Opyoke, clarifying an employee’s burden of proof to sustain an interference claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not require actual denial of FMLA leave to find liability based on interference with FMLA rights. FMLA’s Section...more
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment on behalf of an employer that was sued in an interference claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the case, Hickey v. Protective Life...more
In Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research v. Iancu, the Federal Circuit agreed with the USPTO’s Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) calculation that excluded prosecution that occurred after an interference was decided...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidity decision in an interference proceeding, finding that the written description of the patent at issue did not describe...more
On September 10, 2018, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) determining that there was no interference in fact between the University of California’s (“UC”) U.S. Patent...more
Arbitration - Waymo v. Uber Technologies, 870 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2017) - Waymo sued Uber and others for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. Uber contends that Waymo should be compelled to...more
When an employer provides an employee with a release and settlement agreement, the document regularly includes provisions that prohibit the employee from criticizing the employer and related parties. Several years ago, the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision, rendered in the context of a patent interference contest, resolving priority of invention to a hepatitis C treatment on...more
In Stanford University v. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Fed Cir. No 2015-2011, June 27, 2017), the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded interference decisions on the ground the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”)...more
One-E-Way, Inc. v. ITC, Fed. Cir. Case 2016-2105 (June 12, 2017) - A divided panel reverses a determination of indefiniteness by the ITC, ruling that under Nautilus, the claim language, in combination with the...more
There has not been much case law of particular relevance in the T&E area since our last newsletter, but three recent federal court decisions—one from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and two from the United States District...more
A Pennsylvania appellate court recently refused to enforce a “no damages for delay” clause and upheld an award of delay damages against a school district where the district actively interfered with a general contractor’s...more
In some situations, employees taking Family and Medical Leave were on shaky grounds with regard to their continuing employment prior to the absence. The employer then moves to terminate the employee either while he remains on...more
FRANCHISOR 101: When is Unreasonable, Reasonable? Crown Imports, LLC (Crown) imports Corona beer from Mexico. In 2008, two of Crown's Southern California distributors, Classic and HBC, agreed that Classic would buy...more
Idenix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IDIX) faces an uphill battle to sufficiently demonstrate enablement in its ongoing patent interference against Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) regarding their respective hepatitis C (HCV)...more
To state a claim of interference under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), an employee must show that his or her employer denied benefits to which the employee was entitled under the FMLA. For example, an employee might...more