It is no secret that the misappropriation of trade secrets frequently occurs outside the United States. In a global economy, where companies have locations and markets all around the world, it is not uncommon for trade...more
On April 23, 2024, by a 3-2 margin, the FTC voted to finalize its controversial non-compete rule, which, generally, will prohibit businesses from entering into non-compete agreements with nearly all workers across the U.S....more
4/26/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Trade Secrets
In intellectual property news, the US Patent and Trademark Office recently published a patent application filed by Hyundai Motor Company directed to solid-state battery technology. Many industry experts suggest that...more
After four years of litigation, Australian-based CAP-XX, Ltd. finally commenced its patent infringement trial this Monday against Maxwell Technologies, Inc. before Judge Jennifer Hall and a Delaware jury and is set to end on...more
It is hard to go more than one or two days without reading a headline in the news or on social media about Elon Musk’s Tesla. Perhaps as a sign of what is to come as the push to carbon-free vehicles continues, the EV...more
In litigation news . . .
For the third consecutive month, Tesla finds itself involved in a new patent infringement lawsuit, this latest time as a defendant in an action filed by Graphite Charging Company LLC on August 4,...more
8/31/2023
/ Advanced Batteries ,
Charging Stations ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Patent Infringement ,
Popular ,
Rare Earth Metals ,
Supply Shortages ,
Sustainability ,
Tesla
In technology news . . .
Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) and Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) recently announced that the companies had made the final investment decision on a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)...more
3/24/2023
/ Advanced Batteries ,
Clean Energy ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Hydrogen Power ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Sustainability ,
Toyota ,
USPTO
Mintz EnergyTech Update: New Hydrogen Patents Data Released -
The European Patent Office (EPO) and International Energy Agency (IEA) have now released “Hydrogen Patents for a Clean Energy Future” – a comprehensive report...more
In U.S. technology news, Heliogen, Inc., a renewable energy technology company, recently announced its selection to receive a $4,100,000 award from the U. S. Department of Energy’s “Solar Energy Technologies Office” to...more
12/14/2022
/ Appeals ,
Damages ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Wells ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Solar Energy ,
Sustainability
In U.S. patent litigation news, we reported last month that Judge Young of the District of Massachusetts issued a permanent injunction barring General Electric Co. from selling Haliade-X wind turbines that a jury found...more
In U.S. patent news, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently earned a patent —U.S. Patent No. 11,401,910, entitled “Flexible Wave Energy Converter” — directed to using tiny electrical generators via dynamic strain...more
In the News -
Earlier this month, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which promises to put nearly $370 million in federal funding behind the energy transition. The IRA is expected to...more
In the courts, Tigo Energy – a power optimizer manufacturer headquartered in Campbell, California – filed suit earlier this month against SMA Solar Technology America LLC in the District of Delaware, alleging that SMA and its...more
Patent owners can recover lost profits when (1) there is a demand for a patented product, (2) an absence of acceptable non-infringing alternatives, (3) the patentee had the manufacturing and marketing capacity to exploit...more
While litigants may oft use Rule 11 prematurely or inappropriately, it does have its proper time and place when deployed as intended. In the patent context, examples include when claim elements are clearly missing in an...more
Last week we discussed how useful Rule 11 can be used to recoup reasonable expenses drawn from frivolous litigation in the context of a recent decision in Imprenta Services, Inc. et al. v. Karll et al., 20-cv-6177 (C.D. CA....more
The United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in the closely observed case American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc., v. Neapco Holdings LLC. The Court’s refusal to hear the case disappointed patent practitioners nationwide—and...more
In 2020, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) announced six factors to be used in determining whether to institute an inter partes review (“IPR”) when a fast-moving parallel district court litigation could determine the...more
Recently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) published a notice informing the public that it will be implementing a pilot program (called the Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Response Pilot Program, or the...more
Earlier this month, in Novartis Pharms. Corp., Inc. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., et al., No. 2021-1070, the Federal Circuit issued a helpful decision concerning the not-often-discussed written description requirement. The...more
On January 3, 2022, Magistrate Judge Susan Hightower granted a defendant’s motion to exclude an expert’s damages theory for violating the entire market value rule, reminding plaintiffs everywhere to use caution when applying...more
As a Patent Owner in an instituted Inter Partes Review (IPR), there are dozens of considerations to bear in mind – from strategically approaching depositions and maximizing expert testimony, to drafting the final say in your...more
In this final patent owner tip for surviving an instituted IPR we discuss sur-reply strategies. At this point, the Patent Owner has filed its Response, developed all the facts and evidence, and taken and defended expert...more
Last week we looked at what circumstances favor amending claims in an IPR . We now turn our discussion to those circumstances when a patent owner should think twice about amending, including when significant past damages...more
On Monday, in a highly-anticipated decision, a fractured Supreme Court issued its opinion in United States v. Arthrex, et al., striking a portion of the America Invents Act (AIA) as unconstitutional—but providing an...more
6/25/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
America Invents Act ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Inferior Officers ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Principle Officers ,
SCOTUS ,
United States v Arthrex Inc