In conjunction with the release of the firm's year-in-review report, our speakers will discuss the recent cases surrounding IPR estoppels, evidentiary issues, and recovery, which notably highlight the interplay between the...more
In 2021, district courts were faced with resolving numerous requests by parties seeking attorney fees based on conduct in related USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) proceedings. Many of these requests came in the wake...more
Parallel proceedings before the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are a common feature of district court litigation, and it is common for the factual records to overlap between these tribunals. As a result, questions...more
[co-author: Jamie Dohopolski]
Love it or hate it, ignore the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at your peril. The introduction of the PTAB as part of the America Invents Act over ten years ago has forever changed...more
3/7/2022
/ §315(e) ,
35 U.S.C. § 285 ,
America Invents Act ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Biologics ,
Biosimilars ,
Biotechnology ,
Chemical Compounds ,
Claim Construction ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credibility ,
Declaration ,
Depositions ,
Enhanced Damages ,
Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
Exceptional Case ,
Expert Testimony ,
Expert Witness ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Hatch-Waxman ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Inventors ,
Life Sciences ,
Motion to Amend ,
Obviousness ,
Orange Book ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Cancellation ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution History ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Pre-AIA Patents ,
Printed Publications ,
Prior Art ,
Section 112 ,
Section 325(d) ,
Standard Essential Patents ,
Testimony ,
USPTO ,
USPTO Pilot Program ,
Vacated ,
Written Descriptions
Is Canopy Growth v. GW Pharma Headed to the Federal Circuit?
We have been closely monitoring patent litigation in the cannabis space, including suits related to cannabis extraction technology such as the action filed in...more
Thank you for reading the February 2022 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss trademark rights in relation to appropriation art, including NFTs, and provide an update on cannabis...more
2/25/2022
/ Appropriation ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Claim Construction ,
Dilution ,
Fair Use ,
First Amendment ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Right To Appeal ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademarks ,
Unfair Competition
In Hyatt, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed “for the first time the PTO’s assertion of a prosecution laches defense in a civil action brought by a patentee under 35 U.S.C. § 145 to obtain a patent.”...more
2/16/2022
/ Appeals ,
Evidence ,
FRCP 52(c) ,
GATT ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Filings ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patents ,
Pre-GATT ,
Remand ,
USPTO ,
Vacated
[co-author: Jamie Dohopolski]
Last year, the continued global COVID-19 pandemic forced American courts to largely continue the procedures set in place in 2020. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was no...more
2/9/2022
/ § 314(d) ,
35 U.S.C. §315(e)(1) ,
Absolute Intervening Rights Doctrine ,
Abuse of Discretion ,
Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Article of Manufacture ,
Assignor Estoppel ,
Burden of Proof ,
Claim Construction ,
Collateral Estoppel ,
Commercial Success ,
Confidential Information ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Demand Letter ,
Denial of Institution ,
Design Patent ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Dismissals ,
Doctrine of Prosecution Disclaimer ,
Due Process ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
Executive Branch ,
Executive Powers ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Forum Selection ,
FRCP 52(c) ,
GATT ,
Inferior Officers ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Reexamination ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Intervening Acts ,
Inventions ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Judicial Review ,
Lack of Authority ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Likelihood of Success ,
Minerva Surgical Inc. v Hologic Inc. ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Motivation to Combine ,
Nexus ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Nonobvious ,
Obviousness ,
Ornamental Design ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Filings ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Pre-GATT ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Principle Officers ,
Printed Publications ,
Prior Art ,
Real Party in Interest ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Rule 36 ,
Scope of Review ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 325(d) ,
Sua Sponte ,
Substantial Evidence ,
Totality of Evidence ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO ,
Vacated ,
Writ of Mandamus
Judge Albright Construes a Cannabinoid Extraction Patent -
We have been monitoring the patent showdown between Canadian corporation Canopy Growth and its suit against UK-based specialty pharmaceutical company GW...more
The December 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses new enforcement tools courtesy of the Trademark Modernization Act; Pfizer's acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals; the latest developments in...more
12/23/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Brand ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
Expungement ,
gTLD ,
ICANN ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pfizer ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Websites
Cannabis Extraction Technology Litigation Updates -
We previously predicted that, as the cannabis patent landscape matures and the number of cannabis patents reaches a critical mass, litigation in this field will...more
The August 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses Monster Energy's history of trademark disputes in the context of enhancing brand strength, tips for shortening the pendency of trademark filings...more
8/30/2021
/ Brand ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Domain Name Registration ,
Domain Names ,
gTLD ,
ICANN ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Intent-to-Use ,
Monster Energy Drinks ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Sunrise Periods ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Cancellation ,
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) ,
Trademark Opposition Proceedings ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO
We have been keeping a close eye on the patent suit filed by Canopy Growth against GW Pharma in the Western District of Texas’s Waco Division, a venue that has attained recent fame for its speed to trial in patent litigation....more
The March 2021 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter discusses fair use cases for photographs and three recent developments in the cannabis space. We also highlight recent accolades earned by Sterne Kessler's...more
4/5/2021
/ Artists ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Dietary Supplements ,
Fair Use ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Jurisdiction ,
Marketing ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Photographs ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Substantially Similar ,
Trademarks ,
Warning Letters
In Thryv, Inc v. Click-To-Call Technologies, LP, 140 S. Ct. 1367 (2020), the Supreme Court held that patent owners cannot appeal determinations by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board declining to apply the time bar of 35 U.S.C....more
2/19/2021
/ § 314(d) ,
§ 315(b) ,
§314(a) ,
§314(b) ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Thryv Inc v Click-To-Call Technologies LP ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Vacated
CBD Extraction Showdown: Canopy Growth Sues GW Pharma -
In a patent showdown between two high-profile players in the emerging cannabis industry, Canadian corporation Canopy Growth has sued UK-based specialty pharmaceutical...more
[co-author: Kathleen Wills]
Last year, the global COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for American courts. By making several changes, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was able to...more
2/3/2021
/ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) ,
Adidas ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Appointments Clause ,
Certiorari ,
Claim Construction ,
Comcast ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covenant Not to Sue ,
Denial of Certiorari ,
Dismissals ,
Due Process ,
Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
FanDuel ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Google ,
Hewlett-Packard ,
Hulu ,
Inter Partes Reexamination ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Judicial Review ,
Lack of Authority ,
Motion to Amend ,
Nike ,
Obviousness ,
Oral Argument ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Real Party in Interest ,
Section 337 ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction ,
Thryv Inc v Click-To-Call Technologies LP ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO
In Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP the Supreme Court held, 7-2, that patent owners cannot appeal determinations by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) declining to apply the time-bar of 35 U.S.C. § 315(b)....more
4/21/2020
/ § 314(d) ,
§ 315(b) ,
§314(a) ,
§314(b) ,
America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
Cuozzo Speed Technologies v Lee ,
Dissenting Opinions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Review ,
Non-Appealable Decisions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
SAS Institute Inc. v Iancu ,
SCOTUS ,
Thryv Inc v Click-To-Call Technologies LP ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Vacated
When Congress created inter partes review (“IPR”) proceedings in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, it included an estoppel provision to avoid duplicative validity challenges against the same patent claims.1 As set forth in...more
While petitioners are successful at least 60% of the time in getting the PTAB to institute trial on patents in the biotech, chemical, electrical/computer, mechanical, and business method arts, that is not the case for design...more
Powerful. Resilient. Ever-evolving. These characteristics of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) were on full display in 2019. This past year the PTAB received more than 1,300 inter partes review (IPR), post grant review...more
3/5/2020
/ Claim Construction ,
Concurrent Litigation ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Business Method Proceedings ,
Design Patent ,
Estoppel ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Motion to Amend ,
Motion To Stay ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Trial Practice Guidance
The PTAB Strategies and Insights newsletter provides timely updates and insights into how best to handle proceedings at the USPTO. It is designed to increase return on investment for all stakeholders looking at the entire...more
3/3/2020
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
America Invents Act ,
Estoppel ,
Follow-On Patent Petitions ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Judicial Discretion ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Amend ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
USPTO
AVX Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells a variety of electronic components including capacitors, petitioned for inter partes review (IPR) of Presidio Components, Inc.’s patent directed to single-layer ceramic...more
2/18/2020
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Estoppel ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Ownership ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Standing ,
Subsequent Litigation
GEP Power Products, Inc. petitioned for inter partes review (IPR) of two patents owned by Arctic Cat Inc. directed to an electrical-connection box for distributing power to various electrical components, including components...more
In 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit docketed just over 650 appeals from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). That is the highest number since the Court started to hear post-American Invents Act...more