The allegations of a plaintiff’s complaint do not control when evaluating removal under the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), and instead the court must credit the defendant’s theory of the case when...more
3/28/2025
/ Appeals ,
Contamination ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Federal Contractors ,
Government Contractor Defense ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Manufacturers ,
PFAS ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
Water Pollution
The U.S. Copyright Office is tackling the issue of digital replicas -- videos, pictures or audio recordings digitally created or manipulated to falsely depict an individual – and is calling on Congress to pass a federal law...more
The court in the aqueous film-forming foams (“AFFF”) multidistrict litigation recently established a bellwether process to address personal injury claims alleging that polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in AFFF caused thyroid...more
In United Therapeutics Corporation v. Liquidia Technologies, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a claim to a method of treatment for pulmonary hypertension was not invalid for lack of enablement...more
I’m a bit behind and therefore am not part of the slew of commentary that flowed from the Supreme Court’s decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, 143 S. Ct. 1243, 1248 (2023), addressing Amgen’s claims to “antibodies that (1) bind...more
Businesses throughout the world holding or planning patents in Europe should familiarize themselves with the new Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court and – depending on patent protection strategy -- may want to take action...more
In 2021, the Federal Circuit determined that Amgen’s biotech antibody patents lack enablement, i.e., the specification did not teach one of ordinary skill in the art how to make and use the invention without undue...more
In Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Accord Healthcare, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) held patent claims invalid for lack of written description where a negative limitation was...more
Specification and Prosecution History Narrow the Plain Meaning of “0.001%.”
The claim at issue included a concentration of 0.001% of PVP. The term’s plain meaning is 0.001% within one significant figure (i.e., 0.0005% to...more
Examples in Specification Did Not Provide Written Description Support for Bounded or Closed Ranges -
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's determination that a patent...more
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision of the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”), finding a patent on a method of disinfection obvious. The reversal was based in part on a finding that the Board’s...more
Functional claims took another hit at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The patent at issue broadly claimed a three-part chimeric antigen receptor including all scFvs that bind to any target. The Court found written...more
T-Cell Therapies offer enormous promise in the development of novel approaches to treating cancer. A federal appeals court recently heard arguments in a patent dispute between two companies that have emerged as leaders in...more
Based on the denial of rehearing and the Amgen v. Sanofi decision itself, inventors should:
Claim as many separate species as possible.
Attempt to fashion genus claims that have a limited number of members supported...more
Whether you are pursuing patents on your new technology, thinking about bringing patent infringement litigation or defending patent infringement claims in court, knowing the important developments in patent law will help you...more
2/26/2021
/ Appeals ,
Certiorari ,
Corporate Counsel ,
En Banc Review ,
Estoppel ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Inventors ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Sovereign Immunity
In Biogen MA, Inc. v. EMD Serono, Inc., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reconfirmed, and to an extent clarified, that an existing product and known method of treatment using that product are not patentable...more
The Federal Circuit issued a decision in Baxalta Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., ___ F.3d __, 2020 WL 5048435 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 27, 2020) construing the terms “antibody” and “antibody fragment.” According to the decision:
Antibody:...more
In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed Delaware District Court’s finding of invalidity based on failure to define the scope of the invention and to meet the written description requirements of 35 USC § 112. IBSA...more
One of the murkier areas of patent law is subject matter eligibility—when are patent claims directed to laws of nature, natural phenomenon or abstract ideas and when are they directed to patentable applications of those laws,...more
In Immunex Corp. v. Sandoz, Inc. No. 20-1037 (July 1, 2020), the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals addressed whether references to publicly available databases or deposits could provide adequate written description support for...more
One of the most interesting and promising areas of medical research today involves the use of T-Cell therapies, which offer hope and promise as a new approach to cancer treatment. It has also made for a robust climate for...more
7/21/2020
/ Biotechnology ,
Damages ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Medical Research ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Royalties ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Written Descriptions
Courts have a general policy prohibiting licensees from challenging patent validity (even though the licensee may have voluntarily agreed to forego challenges as a part of the negotiation). In Lear, Inc. v. Atkins, the...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has further extended the time to file certain patent-related documents or pay fees due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This extension supersedes prior USPTO waivers of...more
The Federal Circuit held that a prima facie case of obviousness can be established by prior art ranges for solutions of structurally and functionally similar compounds that overlap with a claimed range in Valeant...more
What happens when your competitors infringe your patent for golf equipment – then declare bankruptcy to avoid paying up? In this episode, Harris Beach intellectual property (IP) attorneys share the story behind the $12...more
2/6/2020
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contempt ,
Design Patent ,
Discovery ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Motion to Compel ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Piercing the Corporate Veil ,
Shell Corporations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Willful Infringement