Kilpatrick partner Mitch Stockwell recently presented to clients at the Kilpatrick Intellectual Property Seminar on the topic of “Patent Disputes: Bringing, Financing, and Fighting Big Cases.” Mr. Stockwell explored both the...more
Patent assertion entities make up a significant portion of patent litigation practice today. Many of these entities form just days or weeks before acquiring a patent and filing a complaint. Just as often, these entities’...more
This article is the next piece of my series discussing patent demand letters. Part one, reviewed the initial considerations and steps one should make upon receiving a patent demand letter. Part two explored the subject or...more
Colleges and universities may be leaving money on the table with under-utilized patent portfolios. The time is right, as the law has shifted in favor of patent owners, both in inter partes review litigation before the Patent...more
The COVID-19 pandemic and widespread shelter-in-place orders have hit every corner of the country’s economy, including tech companies of all sizes. Many tech companies have traditionally maintained large patent portfolios to...more
In a recently issued order, Chief ALJ Bullock granted Respondent’s motion to amend its Response to the Complaint almost nine months after the investigation had been instituted to include the defense of inequitable conduct in...more
In a proceeding that included Patent Office Director Andrei Iancu on the panel, the PTAB issued an order this past week denying institution of 3 IPRs filed by Valve. The decision demonstrates that the PTAB continues to...more
A recent opinion from the Northern District of Texas is a reminder to all patent practitioners to heed pleading standards when drafting a complaint for patent infringement. In Lexington Luminance LLC v. Service Lighting and...more
On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court granted WilmerHale client PNC Bank National Association's (PNC Bank) petition for writ of certiorari and vacated a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit restricting the...more
The U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) terminated Investigation No. 337-TA-1094 based on actual expiration of the asserted patent at issue. Upon a review of the Initial Determination (“ID”), the Commission determined...more
Companies that hold patents so that they can sue companies in an effort to generate revenue rather than create their own goods and services—also known as “patent trolls,” nonpracticing entities (NPEs), or patent assertion...more
Since the passage of the America Invents Act (“AIA”) in 2011, Inter Partes Reviews (“IPRs”) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) have assumed growing importance in patent litigation in federal district courts. ...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC officially reinstating a more restrictive standard for where patent holders can file patent...more
In yet another unanimous intellectual property decision, the United States Supreme Court recently held in TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC that “reside,” as used in the patent venue statute, 28 U.S.C. §...more
Setting up a major shift in patent litigation, the Supreme Court in T.C. Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, today rejected the long-standing Federal Circuit precedent of VE Holding Corp. v. Johnson Gas Appliance...more
Today’s patent practice is rapidly transforming. The practice is undergoing sea changes in patent eligibility, enforcement strategies, and damages. Now more than ever, innovative companies need to adopt best practices to...more
On October 6, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its report on patent assertion entity (PAE) activity. The report is the result of research that began in September 2014 to address a gap in the agency’s understanding...more
New data shows a sharp increase in the number of patent troll lawsuits being filed against energy companies in 2015. As we predicted in our March 2014 White Paper, “Are Patent Trolls Now Targeting the Energy...more
We previously discussed the Vermont attorney general’s enforcement action against MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, a non-practicing entity that has recently been the subject of regulatory scrutiny. The attorney general’s...more
At a time when patent application filings and litigation proceedings for computer-implemented inventions have reached all-time highs, this summer the U.S. Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated opinion addressing the...more
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc. case to determine whether appellate courts should afford any deference to a trial court's claim construction...more
On Tuesday, April 29, the US Supreme Court handed down two unanimous decisions that could have far-reaching consequences for parties in patent litigation. The cases both deal with fee-shifting, which is when a prevailing...more