Morrison & Foerster LLP - Federal Circuitry

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Firm Profile: Morrison & Foerster LLP
425 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-2482, United States
Phone: (415) 268-7000
Fax: (415) 268-7522
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  • Intellectual Property
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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (October 26-30): Another Texas Mandamus Grant

In what seems to be a pattern, the week before argument week was again light on output at the Federal Circuit. The Court issued just two opinions and two dispositive orders. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our…more

First-to-File, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Mandamus Petitions, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (July 31 – August 4): Federal Circuit Reminds To Focus On The Claims

This week’s case of the (recent) week could serve as a crash course in several areas of patent law. It touches on Hatch-Waxman litigation and the Orange Book, claim construction, anticipation/obviousness, written description and…more

Claim Construction, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Hatch-Waxman, Intellectual Property Protection, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding

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Recently in the Federal Circuit: The New Board Construction Conundrum

If you’ve ever wondered how they keep implanted medical devices from becoming dead weight when the batteries run out, this recent Federal Circuit decision addresses one solution—wireless charging through the skin! It also sheds…more

Claim Construction, Final Written Decisions, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Medical Devices, Patent Ownership

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The Federal Circuit, in Boeing, Backs Contractors' Proprietary Markings, but Leaves Open an Important Question on Scope

Federal contractors received some good news from the Federal Circuit this holiday season. The court held, in Boeing Co. v. Secretary of Air Force, that the Department of Defense (DoD) Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement…more

Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, Boeing, Department of Defense (DOD), DFARS, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)

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Recently in the Federal Circuit: Reasonable Expectation of Success May Not Be So Spooky After All

With Halloween fast approaching, many of us are asking the age-old question: “Is this decoration too heavy to hang with this [hook/tape/blue tack/string around a too-thin tree branch]?” The Federal Circuit faced a similar…more

Obviousness, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patents, Prior Art

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 22-27): Written Description - Cobbling Together Numbers After the Fact

The week of Thanksgiving was a slower one for the Federal Circuit. But we still got an interesting written description decision with a divided panel. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our…more

Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Patent Applications, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (January 18-22): Factual Obviousness and Yet Another Arthrex Challenge

Although the Federal Circuit has had a busy January, last week was light on precedential decisions (just one, in a case from the MSPB). Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective…more

Administrative Procedure Act, America Invents Act, Appointments Clause, Final Written Decisions, Inferior Officers

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Recently in the Federal Circuit: More on Indefiniteness in IPRs

Means-plus-function claim elements can be a sticky wicket during an inter partes review, to borrow a phrase from the cricket lovers out there. These are claim elements drafted under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) (or its predecessor…more

Algorithms, Indefiniteness, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Means-Plus-Function, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 1-5): Killing Bacteria with Light – An Unexpected Result?

Last week saw recently confirmed Judge Cunningham sitting for her first oral arguments (alongside her former boss, Judge Dyk). But we’ll have to wait a bit longer for her first authored opinion. Below we provide our usual weekly…more

Final Written Decisions, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Obviousness, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board

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Return to Sender: When Courts of Appeals Disagree on Which One Has Jurisdiction

What happens when two courts of appeal each think the other has exclusive jurisdiction over an appeal? Confusion and inter-circuit criticism. The latest chapter in such a dispute between the Federal and Fifth Circuits on the…more

Appellate Jurisdiction, Corporate Counsel, Exclusive Jurisdiction, Gunn v Minton, Monopolization

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 29 - December 3): COVID-19 Vaccine Patents at the PTAB

Last week the Federal Circuit was gearing up for its December argument sitting, but the Court still found time to issue several decisions. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly…more

Coronavirus/COVID-19, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Obviousness, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 8-12): An Arbitrability Tongue Twister

Fall colors are on full display in DC. But leaf peeping can’t keep us from following the latest news at the Federal Circuit. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective selection…more

Arbitration, Arbitrators, Cal Code of Civil Procedure, Patent Litigation, Patents

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How the Federal Circuit (and Its Judges) Fare at the Supreme Court

How well do Federal Circuit decisions hold up at the Supreme Court? And which Federal Circuit judges have their votes most often affirmed? With the new Supreme Court term around the corner, we dove into a decade’s worth of data…more

Corporate Counsel, Judges, Jurisdiction, Reversal, SCOTUS

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (July 10 – July 14): An Applicant Gets Grilled On The Original Patent Requirement

With summer in full swing, it’s the perfect time to hang out in the pool and grill some burgers. Our case of the week involves an invention for doing both of those activities at the same time—and provides some insight on when…more

Intellectual Property Protection, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 15-19): Government Contracts - A Bridge Too FAR on Termination for Convenience

Although the Federal Circuit did not issue a precedential patent decision this week, there was still plenty of activity, including three grants of mandamus to transfer cases out of the Western District of Texas. Below we provide…more

Contract Termination, Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Federal Contractors, Remand, Termination for Convenience

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (April 5-9): Failure to Authenticate Third-Party Source Code

Last week was argument week, which sometimes means lots of Rule 36 affirmances and not a lot of precedential opinions. Still, that didn’t stop the Court from issuing an interesting, and relatively rare, precedential decision on…more

Authentication, Patent Litigation, Patents, Precedential Opinion, Rule 36

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (April 19-23): Contingent Findings v. Alternative Holdings

As many of you probably saw, Chief Judge Prost’s tenure as Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit is coming to a close, with Judge Moore set to become the new Chief Judge on May 22. But the upcoming transition doesn’t seem to have…more

Patent Infringement, Patent Invalidity, Patent Litigation, Patents, Precedential Opinion

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (March 29-April 2): A POSA By Any Other Name …

In a slow week, the Federal Circuit nevertheless gave patent litigators everywhere a non-precedential opinion to nibble on about the definition of the ever-present person having ordinary skill in the art.  Below we provide our…more

Expert Testimony, Final Written Decisions, Obviousness, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (April 12-16): Self-Enabling Prior Art

It was a busy week for the Federal Circuit, with a total of 18 new opinions, including a precedential opinion on enablement in the context of § 103 obviousness references. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our…more

Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents, Precedential Opinion, Prior Art

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (April 17 – April 21): Inherent Limits And Patent Enablement

We’re still waiting for the Supreme Court to issue its decision in Amgen v. Sanofi. But in the meantime, the Federal Circuit continues to provide insights into 35 U.S.C. § 112’s requirement to “enable” persons of skill in the…more

Claim Construction, Enablement Inquiries, Intellectual Property Protection, International Trade Commission (ITC), Patent Litigation

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (March 13 – March 17): A reminder that motivation doesn’t need to be found in the prior art references themselves

The Court had a busy week as the weather begins to turn, and those with school-aged kids begin to plan for spring break. This week we look at the Court’s latest reminder that obviousness is a flexible analysis, so below we…more

Intellectual Property Protection, Obviousness, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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CVSG in American Axle and Cases in General: What Does It Mean? A Q&A With Deanne Maynard

Some of the big news a couple weeks ago was the Supreme Court’s decision to invite the Solicitor General (SG) to file a brief expressing the views of the United States in American Axle, a Section 101 case involving an industrial…more

Calls for Views of Solicitor General (CVSG), Competition, Patent-Eligible Subject Matter, Patents, SCOTUS

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (March 14-18): Federal Circuit Says No Catch For Claims of Co-Ownership

Last week’s big news was of course the official swearing in of Judge Stark. But there were plenty of other things happening at the Court. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and a detailed discussion of our case of the…more

Co-Ownership, Intellectual Property Protection, Jury Verdicts, Obviousness, Patent Litigation

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Fifth Circuit Weighs In on Transfer Factors In High-Tech IP Case

The Federal Circuit is charged with disposing of the mandamus petitions that regularly arise from decisions denying transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) in Texas patent litigation. The Fifth Circuit, whose law the Federal Circuit…more

Intellectual Property Litigation, Jurisdiction, Patent Litigation, Software, Source Code

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (February 7-11): Don't Forget To File Your Patent Before Pressing That "Fax" Button

No better way to start Valentine’s Day week than to think about a different way for communicating. But as this week’s case of the week shows, what you say and how you say it can matter. Check out our usual weekly statistics…more

America Invents Act, On-Sale Bar, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (November 2-6): Limits on Venue in Hatch-Waxman Cases

Last week was argument week at the Federal Circuit, which as usual meant the Court issued several Rule 36 affirmances and short non-precedential decisions. But tucked in between those was at least one case—a Hatch-Waxman…more

Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA), Generic Drugs, Hatch-Waxman, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation

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Return to Sender: When Courts of Appeals Disagree on Which One Has Jurisdiction

What happens when two courts of appeal each think the other has exclusive jurisdiction over an appeal? Confusion and inter-circuit criticism. The latest chapter in such a dispute between the Federal and Fifth Circuits on the…more

Appellate Jurisdiction, Corporate Counsel, Exclusive Jurisdiction, Gunn v Minton, Monopolization

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (May 15 – May 19): Joint Inventorship and Insignificant Contributions

This week’s bacon-related case of the week may lack a certain recognizable savory smell, but it still manages to pack some helpful insights on the law of joint inventorship. Case of the (recent) week: HIP, Inc. v. Hormel…more

Intellectual Property Protection, Inventors, Joint Inventors, Patent Applications, Patent Litigation

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (February 8-12): Patent Term Adjustments When Examiners Back Down

Did you remember to send your favorite examiner a Valentine’s Day card?  Okay, so maybe that’s not the typical applicant/examiner relationship.  But this week we do look at some potential consequences from the back and forth…more

Patent Examinations, Patent Litigation, Patent Term Adjustment, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (January 25-29): Year 1993 and LTE Technology

Despite no precedential patent decisions at the Federal Circuit, the Court still addressed some interesting issues last week, including whether a license agreement from 1993 bars patent infringement claims on LTE technology 25…more

Abuse of Discretion, IP License, License Agreements, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (April 4 - 8): Claim Differentiation Carries The Day

Last week was argument week at the Federal Circuit, and we’ve already begun seeing decisions from the argued cases trickle in. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and a detailed discussion of our case of the week—our…more

Claim Construction, Patent Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patent Prosecution History, Patents

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (March 21-25): Oil is a Hot Commodity These Days—Even on the Federal Circuit

When it comes to oil, even the Federal Circuit’s hands are sometimes tied. Last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board Precedential Opinion Panel decision for claims related to oil wells, although the…more

Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents, Precedential Opinion

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (March 7-11): March Madness Mandamus-Style

If your limited attention is diverted this week because of March Madness, never fear! We’ve got you covered at Federal Circuitry, where we’re always tracking the latest news at the Federal Circuit. Below we provide our usual…more

Franchise Agreements, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patents, Precedential Opinion

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (February 1-5): The Growing Universe of Printed Publications

Since yesterday was the Super Bowl, we assume that all of our readers spent today as we did, thinking about the Federal Circuit's recent decision in M&K Holdings about a video compression patent. If not, we've got you covered. …more

Appeals, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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Last Two Weeks in the Federal Circuit (December 27 - January 7)

The Federal Circuit is holding its first argument session of 2022 this week (with a return to telephonic arguments in light of the Omicron variant).  In this post, we take a look back at how the Court closed out 2021 and began…more

Claim Construction, Claim Limitations, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Means-Plus-Function, Obviousness

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (June 1–4): Prosecution Disclaimer – What’s Good for the Goose …

Although last week saw just four Federal Circuit opinions, they were all precedential ones and covered a range of interesting issues. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective…more

Claim Construction, Doctrine of Prosecution Disclaimer, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patents

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Fifth Circuit Weighs In on Transfer Factors In High-Tech IP Case

The Federal Circuit is charged with disposing of the mandamus petitions that regularly arise from decisions denying transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a) in Texas patent litigation. The Fifth Circuit, whose law the Federal Circuit…more

Intellectual Property Litigation, Jurisdiction, Patent Litigation, Software, Source Code

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (July 5-9): What Happens When the Federal Circuit Looks to Define the Undefined

Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective selection based on whatever case piqued our interest. Precedential opinions: 1 - v Non-precedential opinions: 4 - Rule 36: 3 -…more

Claim Construction, Indefiniteness, Intrinsic Evidence, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (February 14-18): When Objective Indicia Evidence Both Is, And Is Not, Sufficient For Non-Obviousness

Despite no precedential patent decisions at the Federal Circuit last week, the Court still addressed some interesting issues, including a decision in which the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rejected a patentee’s alleged…more

Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard, Nonobvious, Obviousness, Patent Litigation, Patent Trial and Appeal Board

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (September 20-24): Venue, Venue, Venue

Although the Federal Circuit didn’t issue a lot of precedential decisions last week, it continued the recent trend of venue transfer decisions out of the Western District of Texas. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics…more

Motion to Transfer, Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patents, Transfer of Venue

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (September 6-10): The (Un)Enforceability Of Arbitration Agreements At The PTAB

The Federal Circuit issued just one precedential opinion the week of Labor Day (along with several non-precedential opinions and Rule 36 judgments). But it’s an interesting one, addressing the interplay between arbitration…more

Arbitration, Arbitration Agreements, Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding, Interlocutory Appeals, Jurisdiction

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (August 16-20): Controlling for Authentication

It has been another steamy August week here in Washington and at the Federal Circuit, with eleven new opinions fresh off the press.  Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective…more

Patent Infringement, Patent Litigation, Patent Prosecution History, Patent Trial and Appeal Board, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (August 23-27): Supporting Damages Expert’s Testimony

With Labor Day around the corner and summer coming to a close, the Federal Circuit had a busy week with a lot of precedential opinions to pick from. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our…more

Calculation of Damages, Discovery, Expert Testimony, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Patent Litigation

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Last Week In The Federal Circuit (August 30-September 3): Candor At The Patent Office

The Federal Circuit returned to a full week of in-person arguments last week.  But that didn’t keep it from issuing a range of decisions in patent and non-patent cases.  Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case…more

Deceptive Intent, Inequitable Conduct, Patent Applications, Patent Litigation, Patents

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (August 9-13): The Dangers of Relying Solely on Extrinsic Evidence for Claim Construction

Although things often slow down in Washington in the August heat and humidity, that wasn’t the case this past week for the Federal Circuit. All told, the Court issued 5 precedential opinions and ruled in 17 cases. Below we…more

Claim Construction, Extrinsic Evidence, Patent Litigation, Patent Prosecution, Patent Prosecution History

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Last Week in the Federal Circuit (October 4-8): An “Inventive” Authentication Scheme Takes The Cake Under Alice

Even though last week was argument week, that didn’t slow down the issuance of decisions at the Federal Circuit. Below we provide our usual weekly statistics and our case of the week—our highly subjective selection based on…more

Abstract Ideas, CLS Bank v Alice Corp, Inventive Concept Test, Patent Litigation, Patent-Eligible Subject Matter

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