Patent Law Weblog
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- REGENEXBIO Inc. v. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2026)
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Category: Federal Circuit
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Oft times it appears that, serendipitously or by design, the Federal Circuit issues an opinion on an aspect of patent law that the Supreme Court is also considering. And sometimes the shadow of the Court's impending decision, like an unobserved new planet or dark star bends the appellate court's decisions…
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Dolly the Sheep Not Patent Eligible Subject Matter By Donald Zuhn — Earlier today, the Federal Circuit affirmed a determination by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board affirming the rejection of claims 155-159 and 164 of U.S. Application No. 09/225,233 as being directed to unpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Coincidentally, the decision…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The Federal Circuit extended the scope of the judicially created doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP) in a split decision rendered in Gilead Sciences Inc. v. Natco Pharma Ltd. In doing so, the panel majority applied what it viewed as the important policy motivations for the doctrine, a rationale unpersuasive…
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By Michael Greenfield — On April 21, 2014, a Federal Circuit panel reiterated its interpretation and application to the chemical arts of the KSR obviousness standard. Although applicable more broadly than the chemical arts, the opinion may be of particular interest to patent prosecutors in this technology field. A jury found the patent at issue…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The Federal Circuit used its decision that the District Court erred in certain of its claim construction determinations to reverse a jury award of greater than $100 million, but left intact large portions of the District Court's claim construction and remanded for a retrial consisting mainly of reconsideration of the…
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By Michael Greenfield — Last Friday, the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in Hoffman La-Roche Inc. v. Apotex Inc. that is a cautionary tale of patent lifecycle and the difficulties those seeking to extend patent protection face — namely the blooming of prior art relating to an approved product. The patents at issue in this…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Claim construction in patent cases, and the propensity for the Federal Circuit to disagree with a district court's conclusions regarding the scope and meaning of claim terms, remains one of the most vexing aspects of patent litigation (yes, even more so than the vaunted "troll" problem; and if you think…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The Federal Circuit's decision in the consolidated appeals of Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Actavis, Inc. and Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Roxane Laboratories, Inc. amply demonstrates the concept that you should be careful what you bargain for, wherein the Court held that a prior ANDA settlement agreement provides neither express or…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Applying the doctrine of claim preclusion (previously termed res judicata), a fractured majority of the Federal Circuit held that prior ANDA litigation to final judgment precluded reassertion of amended claims in the same patents against the same products after reexamination that narrowed the scope of the claims to avoid an…
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Barr does not infringe, Alcon's patents not invalid By Kevin E. Noonan — In ANDA litigation between branded drug maker Alcon Research and generic drugmaker Barr Laboratories, the Federal Circuit affirmed a District Court finding of non-infringement and reversed a finding of invalidity for failure to satisfy either the enablement or written description requirements of…
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