On appeal from an interference proceeding, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board decision that found the claims of the senior party’s patent were not invalid as time-barred...more
Precedential and Key Federal Circuit Opinions - LKQ CORPORATION v. GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC [OPINION] (2021-2348, 5/21/24) Moore, Lourie, Dyk, Prost, Reyna, Taranto, Chen, Hughes, Stoll, and Stark - Stoll,...more
In a landmark decision, the Delaware Court of Chancery addressed, for the first time, the precise duties that a controlling stockholder owes, and the standard of review that will apply, when a controlling stockholder takes...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board held all challenged claims of IGT’s patent unpatentable as obvious over two prior art patents. Zynga Inc. v. IGT, IPR2022-00199-32. In doing so, the PTAB further held that, contrary to...more
A California federal court, applying California law, found that a lawsuit for intentional interference with contractual relations necessarily alleged a willful act and was therefore uninsurable under California Insurance...more
The National Labor Relations Board swung to a Democratic majority after the 2020 election of President Joe Biden. That majority has been almost continually dismantling standards established by the Republican majority Board...more
Two amici have filed briefs in support of the appeal by Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, "CVC") of the decision by the Patent Trial and...more
The decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in favor of Senior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University, and MIT (collectively, "Broad") and against Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board correctly considered evidence of multiple witnesses to be sufficient in corroborating actual reduction to practice when...more
On December 14th*, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board rendered its decision on Preliminary Motions in Interference No. 106,133 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich and Junior Party The Broad Institute, Harvard University, and...more
A new year means new Federal Circuit decisions to analyze. Our case of the week recounts an interesting saga of companies copying each other’s patent applications to provoke an interference. And if that’s not enough to grab...more
As the dodo of patent practice, the number of interferences has been steadily dwindling since enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act in 2012 abolished the practice in favor of a "first inventor to file" regime and a...more
A group of 14 Republican AGs wrote a letter to Merrick B. Garland, the U.S. Attorney General, asking what steps the DOJ is taking to protect against potential threats posed by foreign entities funding civil litigation within...more
On December 14th, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rendered its Decision on Motions in Interference No 106,132 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich ("Sigma") and Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the...more
Having heard oral argument at a hearing held on Monday, November 21st, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on December 14th entered its decision on motions in Interference No 106,132 between Senior Party Sigma-Aldrich ("Sigma")...more
Employers, don't be too rigid about employee notice requirements. Weird case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Imagine this: You're the HR manager at a manufacturing facility. An hourly employee has...more
On October 24th, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board scheduled back-to-back oral hearings for interferences between Sigma-Aldrich (Senior Party) and Junior Party The Regents of the University of California, University of...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (like its predecessor, the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences or BPAI) occasionally renders an opinion having the tendency to raise an eyebrow or two, which on occasion has led the...more
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) prohibits employers from denying qualified employees’ requests for leave or otherwise interfering with employees’ rights under the law. What happens if an employee never requests FMLA...more
On September 18, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board denied all preliminary motions by Junior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University, and MIT (collectively, "Broad") and Senior Party ToolGen in Interference No....more
On September 28, 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeals Board suspended proceedings in Interference No. 106,126, between junior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University and MIT (collectively, "Broad") and Senior Party...more
The PTAB held an Oral Hearing between Junior Party the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, "CVC") and Senior Party ToolGen on September 12th, bringing to a close...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board held an Oral Hearing between Junior Party the Broad Institute, Harvard University and MIT (collectively, "Broad") and Senior Party ToolGen on September 12th, bringing to a close proceedings...more
On August 15, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Roberts v. Gestamp West Virginia, LLC, that an employer’s “usual and customary” notice procedures relating to absences extended beyond the company’s...more
In a recent decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit clarified that an employer can violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) by discouraging an employee from taking FMLA leave, even...more