Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
Newsflash: Rockweed Not a Fish
Recently, the Federal Circuit affirmed a PTAB decision finding that a private sale of a product did not constitute a public disclosure by the inventor of the product. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act provides exceptions...more
Before Dyk, Clevenger, and Stoll. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: An invention is not “publicly disclosed” under 35 USC 102(b)(2)(B) by the inventor’s private sale, even though a private sale may...more
We are pleased to share Sheppard Mullin’s inaugural “Year in Review” report that collects and reports on most key patent law-related Federal Circuit decisions for 2023. This is a follow up to the quarterly report we...more
I. Minerva Surgical v. Hologic: Background - The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion earlier this year in Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc. clarifying the “in public...more
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc. provides a timeline reminder to inventors and patent applicants: Do not bring your invention into public view before you have filed your patent...more
Be careful of showing your claimed inventions at tradeshows. On February 15, 2023, the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) affirmed a summary judgment ruling that, by merely showcasing an embodying device at an industry event (the...more
In a cautionary tale for inventors participating in trade shows and other non-confidential presentations, on February 15, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision invalidating...more
This is an appeal from a District of Delaware summary judgment order that held that the asserted claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,186,208 (the ’208 Patent) are anticipated under the public use bar of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). ...more
Last week, in a non-precedential opinion for an appeal from a Patent and Trial Appeals Board (PTAB) decision (In re WinGen), the Federal Circuit addressed prior public use under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). The issue was...more
Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P. v. U.S. Venture, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2020-1640, -1641 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 29, 2022) - Our case of the week has a little bit for everyone, including lost profits, reasonable royalties,...more
This memorandum explains the steps you should take in reviewing a draft of your patent application, as well as your duties in regards to providing information that is material to the examination of your patent application by...more
The basics - The U.S. Patent Act precludes the granting of a patent if the claimed invention was in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public more than one year prior to the effective filing date of the...more
Declining to extend the public-use bar to third-party commercial uses of secret processes, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a summary judgment ruling that found a patent invalid under the “known or...more
BASF CORPORATION v. SNF HOLDING COMPANY - Before Lourie, Moore, and Chen. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Summary: A third party’s sale of products made by a secret...more
In what may be simple happenstance, the Federal Circuit issued opinions on the same day reversing a District Court grant of summary judgment in opinions written by Judge Lourie, here in BASF Corp. v. SNF Holding Co....more
On January 22, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., No. 17-1229 (Jan. 22, 2019)....more
Addressing pre-America Invents Act (AIA) 35 USC § 102(b), the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the public-use and on-sale bars did not apply to the claimed surgical method because pre-critical-date...more
Addressing whether the on-sale bar of America Invents Act (AIA) 35 USC § 102(a)(1) applies to confidential sales where specific details are not made public, the Supreme Court of the United States found that the post-AIA...more
If the term "happy hour" in this article's title caught your attention, you may be disappointed by what comes next. This article is actually about limitations on patent protection, which I would argue is just as...more
Helsinn Healthcare (“Helsinn”) is the maker of certain treatments for chemotherapy-induced nausea (the “Palonosetron Products”). During the development process, Helsinn entered into two third party agreements for distribution...more
Helsinn confirmed that the AIA did not alter the meaning of the “on-sale” bar. In Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc, the Supreme Court addressed whether a confidential sale of an invention to a...more
Originally published in The Journal Record | January 31, 2019. This month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Helsinn Healthcare v. Teva Pharmaceuticals, confirming that private sales of an invention may preclude...more
The Supreme Court recently issued its closely-watched decision in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., which has direct implications regarding the scope of § 102 prior art under the America Invents Act...more
Prior to the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”), the patent statute (35 U.S.C. § 102(b)) prohibited patenting an invention that was “on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for...more
Inventors should not delay the filing of their patent applications, and preferably should file within one year of any commercialization of the invention, as confirmed by the Supreme Court on January 22, 2019....more