Patent Law Weblog
Category: Claim Construction
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The More Things Change (Lighting Ballast Control LLC v. Philips Electronics North America), the More They Stay the Same (Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc.) By Andrew Williams — On June 18, 2015, the Federal Circuit handed down its second opinion in the Teva Pharmaceuticals USA v. Sandoz Inc. case. And, much like with…
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By Andrew Williams — When can a district court's factual findings related to the extrinsic evidence in a claim construction determination not be given deference by the Federal Circuit? At least one situation is when the findings do not "override" "the totality of the specification," especially when the specification "clearly indicates . . . the…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — It has escaped almost no one's notice that the Supreme Court has spent the past decade or so being much more involved in patent law than in the preceding twenty years. Evident but perhaps less discussed is the change in the nature of how U.S. patent law is now developed…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The recent history of Supreme Court patent cases has made the dissent a seemingly endangered species, the Court consistently deciding important patent cases by 9-0 votes and, at best, garnering concurring opinions for Justices to further set forth their views. In the Teva v. Sandoz decision this trend came to…
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Is Deference in Claim Construction Review a Good Thing for the Patent System? By Andrew Williams — As we reported earlier today, the Supreme Court held in a 7-2 decision authored by Justice Breyer that an "appellate court must apply a 'clear error,' not de novo, standard of review" to the evidentiary underpinnings of a…
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By Andrew Williams — In a 7-2 decision authored by Justice Breyer, the Supreme Court held today that an "appellate court must apply a 'clear error,' not de novo, standard of review" to the evidentiary underpinnings of a district court's claim construction determination. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., No. 13-854, slip op. at…
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By Donald Zuhn — After reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its eighth annual list of top patent stories. For 2014, we identified eighteen stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we believe had (or are likely to have) the greatest impact on patent practitioners and…
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By Andrew Williams — The pharmaceutical industry has been closing watching the proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB" or "Board") to see if inter partes review ("IPR") will be a viable option for generic drug companies seeking to challenge Orange-Book-listed patents. On December 9, 2014, the PTAB released two sets of decisions…
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By Andrew Williams — On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc. case to determine whether appellate courts should afford any deference to a trial court's claim construction determination. We have been previewing this case, including the case law backdrop (see "Supreme Court Preview —…
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By Andrew Williams — Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc. case to determine whether appellate courts should afford any deference to a trial court's claim construction determination. Specifically, the question presented was phrased as: Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure…
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