Patent Law Weblog
Year: 2020
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Since the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rendered its decisions on Motions in Interference No. 106,115, Senior Party The Broad Institute, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (collectively, "Broad") and Junior Party the University of California/Berkeley, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier (collectively, "CVC") have filed…
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By Aaron Gin — Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office released a study entitled "Inventing AI", which highlights the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI)-based patent applications in the U.S. over the past few decades. The study, released by the Office of the Chief Economist of the USPTO, surveyed publicaly available granted U.S. patents…
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By Michael Borella — One of the more frustrating aspects of current patent-eligibility law is that it lends itself all too easily to mischief. In particular, given that the eligibility test under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as interpreted by the courts is poorly-defined, conclusory reasoning frequently rears its ugly head. Such reasoning is sometimes found…
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Federal Circuit Refuses to Issue Stay in Mandate Pending Certiorari Decision By Kevin E. Noonan — One of the most interesting (albeit troubling) decisions by the Federal Circuit in the past year or so was its decisions, by a panel and then in denying review en banc, in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — At least some of the judges on the Federal Circuit have been reported to have voiced some frustration regarding the number of appeals of decisions by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that are on the Court's docket, particularly Board decisions in inter partes review. There being little evidence that…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Perception by the five human senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) varies significantly between individuals and populations. Some use these differences to their advantage, such as sommeliers capable of detecting exquisite shadings in wines (or even the difference between the taste of Coke and Pepsi; see Malcolm Gladwell's Blink). …
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By Kevin E. Noonan — One of the hallmarks of the current coronavirus pandemic, caused by SARS-Cov-2, is its zoonotic origins. The virus is thought to have risen in bats and "jumped" to humans, and despite conspiracy theories of intentional human engineering (reminiscent of Soviet-backed propaganda in Africa in the 1980's that HIV/AIDS was produced…
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By James Lovsin — Today, the Supreme Court granted petitions for a writ of certiorari to review the Federal Circuit's decision in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc., in which the court of appeals held how administrative patent judges were appointed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") violated the Appointments Clause of…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The Federal Trade Commission carried out an (in)famous crusade against reverse payment (more provocatively, "pay for delay") settlements in ANDA litigation for almost a decade before eventually having the Supreme Court see things their way (to some extent) in FTC v Actavis. The Commission has not lost its enthusiasm for…
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By Michael Borella — Last year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a request for comments (RFC) on patenting artificial intelligence (AI) based inventions. Topics of the RFC included AI's impact on inventorship and ownership, patent eligibility, disclosure, prior art, and the level of ordinary skill in the art. The USPTO received 99…
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