The Supreme Court, speaking through a five-justice majority, has reaffirmed the equitable principle of assignor estoppel while at the same time limiting its application in Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc. Assignor...more
Patent law is replete with arcane (and often judge-made) doctrines, such as the doctrine of equivalence and obviousness-type double patenting. In addition, long having been considered a property right (Oil States to the...more
In Van Buren v. United States, the Supreme Court faced the difficult task of determining whether the opaquely-written Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) would apply to situations in which a person who was authorized to...more
Supreme Court Narrows Federal "Anti-Hacking" Law to Exclude Enforcement Against Those Who Use Otherwise Authorized Access for Improper Purpose -
There is a well-worn legal maxim that "hard cases make bad law." In deciding...more
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ("CFAA") is a Federal criminal statute intended to protect government and other "protected computers" from hacking. Among other things, the CFAA serves as the basis for punishing anyone who...more
2019 Patent Trial and Appeal Board Key Practice Updates: A Year in Review -
2019 has been an active year for procedural changes in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”). These changes include not only the PTAB’s...more
Businesses often worry that the information they provide to the government will be disclosed, and with good reason – such information is presumptively available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act...more
12/20/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets ,
USDA
A patent applicant dissatisfied with a decision by the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) has two options for review of that decision. Most commonly—by far—the applicant can appeal the decision to the U.S. Court...more
Although patentees generally do not have great concerns about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's secrecy requirements, they may lose control over their information under...more
7/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Congressional Intent ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Food Marketing Institute v Argus Leader Media ,
Motion to Compel ,
Private Commercial or Financial Information ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Substantial-Competitive-Harm Test ,
Trade Secrets ,
USDA
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court today held that federal government agencies cannot avail themselves of America Invents Act (AIA) post-grant proceedings. This decision was based on the Court's determination that the...more
In a 6-3 decision rendered earlier on June 10, 2019, the Supreme Court decided that federal agencies are not “persons” who can petition for post-issuance review of patents under the America Invents Act (AIA). Thus, the...more
On the same day that the Supreme Court decided what the term "full costs" means under the Copyright Act, it granted certiorari to consider what "all the expenses of [a district court review] proceeding" means under the Patent...more
Earlier today, February 19, 2019, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Return Mail, Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service, which presented the simple question whether the federal government is a "person" entitled to petition for...more
On Friday, October 26, 2018, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Return Mail, Inc. v. U.S. Postal Service, in order to answer the question whether the government can bring post-grant review proceedings under the...more
In a 7-2 decision authored by Justice Breyer, the U.S. Supreme Court held yesterday that an “appellate court must apply a ‘clear error,’ not de novo, standard of review” to the evidentiary underpinnings of a district court’s...more
In This Issue:
- Prior Art Redefined Under the AIA
- PTAB Holds a Firm Line on Additional Discovery
- The Art of Prior Art Searching
- Anticipating a Federal Trade Secret Law
- Trademark...more
11/26/2014
/ Additional Discovery ,
America Invents Act ,
Covered Business Method Proceedings ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patentability Search ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
SCOTUS ,
Trade Secrets ,
USPTO