2023 saw a return to business as usual for the Federal Circuit. Oral arguments are once again in-person and open to the public, and the Court has resumed its former practice of holding occasional sittings outside of...more
Thank you for reading the May 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss Taco Bell's attempt to cancel two TACO TUESDAY trademark registrations, and a precedential TTAB decision...more
6/1/2023
/ Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc v Goldsmith ,
Artists ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
Copyright ,
Drug Paraphernalia ,
Functionality ,
Generic Marks ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
The Copyright Act ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
Transformative Use ,
USPTO
Smith & Nephew petitioned for IPR of Arthrex’s ’907 patent, which claims a surgical device with an “eyelet” through which a suture is threaded. Smith & Nephew argued in relevant part that certain claims were anticipated by a...more
2/15/2023
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Anticipation ,
Appointments Clause ,
Arthrex Inc v Smith & Nephew Inc ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statutory Authority ,
Substantial Evidence ,
USPTO ,
Written Descriptions
Nippon Shinyaku and Sarepta entered into a Mutual Confidentiality Agreement to facilitate discussions about a potential business relationship related to muscular dystrophy therapies. Section 6.1 of the MCA contained a mutual...more
2/15/2023
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Covenant Not to Sue ,
Forum Selection ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
USPTO
As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more
2/8/2023
/ § 314(d) ,
§ 315(b) ,
35 U.S.C. §315(e)(1) ,
Abuse of Discretion ,
Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
America Invents Act ,
Anticipation ,
Apple ,
Appointments Clause ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Arthrex Inc v Smith & Nephew Inc ,
Article III ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broadcom ,
Burden of Persuasion ,
Burden of Production ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Consent Order ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Covenant Not to Sue ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Doctrine of Equivalents ,
Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
Expert Testimony ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Federal Vacancies Reform Act ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Forum Selection ,
Google ,
Indefiniteness ,
Intel ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Joint Inventors ,
Jurisdiction ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Likelihood of Confusion ,
Motion to Amend ,
Motion to Terminate ,
Obviousness ,
Obviousness-Type Double Patenting (ODP) ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Patent Act ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prior Art ,
Qualcomm ,
Real Party in Interest ,
Remand ,
Section 101 ,
Section 112 ,
Separation of Powers ,
Standing ,
Statutory Authority ,
Sua Sponte ,
Substantial Evidence ,
Testimony ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Trademark Application ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademark Litigation ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ,
Trademarks ,
USPTO ,
Vacated ,
Written Descriptions
Alarm.com filed three petitions for inter partes review (IPR) against Vivint, Inc.’s ’513 patent. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board or PTAB) denied institution of the first two petitions because Alarm.com had failed to...more
2/15/2022
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Denial of Institution ,
Ex Partes Reexamination ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Lack of Authority ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
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
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Arthrex, the Federal Circuit issued requests for briefing regarding the decision’s impact in pending PTAB appeals in which an Appointments Clause challenge had been...more
[co-author: Jay Bober, Summer Associate]
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...more
8/2/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appointments Clause ,
Burden of Proof ,
Claim Construction ,
Denial of Institution ,
Evidence ,
Executive Branch ,
Executive Powers ,
Intel ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Oral Hearings ,
Parallel Proceedings ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Validity ,
Patents ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Prejudice ,
Prior Art ,
Qualcomm ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Deadlines ,
Stipulations ,
Sua Sponte ,
United States v Arthrex Inc ,
USPTO ,
Vacated
[co-authors: Patrick Murray, Risa Rahman, and Jae Bandeh]
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...more
7/6/2021
/ Assignor Estoppel ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Estoppel ,
Final Written Decisions ,
First Amendment ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Mahanoy Area School District v B.L. ,
Medical Devices ,
Minerva Surgical Inc. v Hologic Inc. ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Public Schools ,
SCOTUS ,
Snapchat ,
Student Speech ,
Students ,
Tinker v Des Moines Independent Community School Dist. ,
USPTO
The US Supreme Court held in United States v. Arthrex that administrative patent judges’ ability to render final decisions on patentability on behalf of the Executive Branch is “incompatible with their status as inferior...more
6/21/2021
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
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 ,
USPTO
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
3/31/2021
/ § 315(b) ,
America Invents Act ,
Claims Limitations Period ,
Demand Letter ,
Denial of Institution ,
Due Process ,
Evidence ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Mandamus Petitions ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
USPTO ,
Willful Infringement
[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 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
Yesterday, in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., a panel of the Federal Circuit unanimously held that the appointment scheme for the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) Administrative Patent Judges (APJ) is...more
11/1/2019
/ Administrative Patent Judges ,
Appeals ,
Appellate Rules ,
Appointments Clause ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Director of the USPTO ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Judicial Appointments ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Pending Litigation ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Principle Officers ,
Remand ,
Remedial Actions ,
Removal At-Will ,
Secretary of Commerce ,
Senate Confirmation Hearings ,
Severability Doctrine ,
USPTO ,
Vacated