The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision granting summary judgment in favor of the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) regarding the propriety of imposing a restriction requirement on a pre-General...more
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
[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
In Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc., Novartis scored another obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP) win when the Federal Circuit held that a post-URAA child patent could not be cited as an...more
This article is first in a series focusing on various issues related to Patent Term Adjustment. Part 1 is a general overview of how to calculate patent term adjustment, without addressing the numerous factors that can affect...more
The Senate has passed a modified version of HR 6621, which focuses on changes “[t]o correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act” and also includes other provisions unrelated to the AIA, such...more
On January 1, 2013, a bill (H.R. 6621) cleared both houses of Congress to “correct and improve certain provisions” in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA) and in other parts the Patent Act....more
On January 1, 2013 — immediately after passing the fiscal crisis bill — the House of Representatives agreed by voice vote (at 11:13 PM) to approve the Senate's Amendments to H.R. 6621. A controversial provision that would...more
The Senate on Saturday passed an amended version (S. Amendment 3344) of H.R. 6621, Rep. Lamar Smith's bill "To correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and title 35, United States Code." ...more
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amended version of HR 6621 that does not includes the provisions that could have effectively eliminated the term of any pending patent applications that were filed before June 7,...more
The House passed H.R. 6621 last night, on a vote of 308-89 (the roll call being demanded by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher over a request for a voice vote from the bill's sponsor, Rep. Lamar Smith). The substance of the substantive...more
Rep. Lamar Smith's H.R. 6621 came up for a vote today on the House floor under a suspension of the rules permitting the House to consider and vote upon the measure without debate. In contrast with Rep. Smith's (at right)...more
Although most of HR 6621 (introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith on Nov. 30, 2012) would make changes “[t]o correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act,” the bill includes other provisions that are...more
With most lawmakers focused on the so called "fiscal cliff" during the current lame duck session of Congress, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) has quietly once again proposed legislation to reform the United States patent...more
Lurking in H.R. 6621, a bill entitled "To correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act and title 35, United States Code" and introduced on November 30th by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is a...more
HR 6621 (introduced by Representative Lamar Smith on November 30, 2012) proposes several changes “[t]o correct and improve certain provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act,” but also includes provisions that would...more