Category: Uncategorized

By Kevin E. Noonan – The Federal Circuit reversed a District Court grant of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that overturned a jury verdict that defendant Eli Lilly had not satisfied the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard in challenging on Section 112(a) grounds claims asserted by Teva Pharmaceuticals in Teva Pharmaceuticals International v. Eli Lilly &…

By Michael Borella – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has extended its Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot Program (ASAP!) until June 1, 2026.  Originally slated to close to new petitions on April 20, 2026 (see “USPTO Announces That It Has Turned the Corner on Unexamined Application Backlog“), the Office has expanded both the duration and…

By Donald Zuhn – In a press release issued last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that for the first time in nearly a decade, the number of first Office actions that the USPTO has issued during the fiscal year is exceeding the number of new applications that are being filed.  The Office…

By Kevin E. Noonan – The alacrity with which the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) came to the same conclusion in its latest priority determination in favor of the Senior Party in interference No. 106,115 that it had almost eleven months ago precluded an assessment of Broad’s Brief in Opposition to CVC’s Opening brief…

By Donald Zuhn – Last week, Mexican law firm OLIVARES reported that Mexico had published amendments to the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property (FLPIP) on April 3, 2026, that introduce changes that will impact patent filing and prosecution strategies in that country.  The report notes that the amendments incorporate mechanisms that are…

The Decision on Priority By Kevin E. Noonan – On March 26, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, without holding an oral hearing and despite a rather sharply worded opinion by the Federal Circuit vacating and remanding its earlier priority decision (see “Regents of the University of California v. Broad Institute, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2025)“), granted…

By Donald Zuhn – Earlier this year, Argentine intellectual property law firm Berken IP reported that Argentina had signed a Reciprocal Trade and Investment Agreement with the United States that included several commitments to harmonize its intellectual property system with international standards.  Among those commitments were “expeditiously” repealing the Guidelines for the Examination of Chemical-Pharmaceutical Patent Applications;…

By Dunstan Barnes, Catalina “Caty” Medrano, and Tristan Morgan – On March 12, 2026, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John A. Squires announced new supplemental guidance regarding examination of design patent applications related to computer-generated interfaces and icons.  Prior to this announcement, the U.S. was lagging behind three of the other four major design…

By Kevin E. Noonan – The course of the proceedings involving the attempts to remove Judge Pauline Newman from the Federal Circuit is long, and in many senses tragic (see links below).  Just when you might think the last Act has begun (see “Judge Newman Seeks Recourse from Supreme Court“), the Judicial Conduct and Disability…

Despite a pointed decision by the Federal Circuit vacating and remanding the matter to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, yesterday the Board once again granted priority for CRISPR technology to the Broad Institute. A more detailed discussion of the basis for this judgment will follow.