Posts in IPWatchdog Articles

mRNA IP and Competitive Landscape: 2021 in Review – Part I, Update on Moderna, BioNTech, and CureVac

In April of this year, we provided a three-part series relating to the IP and Competitive Landscape for the mRNA market. In this post (Part I), we provide a 2021 year in review update on mRNA pioneers Moderna, BioNTech and CureVac, and in Part II, we profile Sanofi and other companies in the mRNA space and offer additional conclusions and outlook for 2022 and beyond.

Becoming Harder to Justify a One-Size-Fits-All Patent System

Meanwhile, all patents— good, bad, revolutionary, and stupid— have eroded to the point where continued use of the U.S. patent system must be questioned. Despite the statute saying that patents are to be treated as property rights, the Supreme Court has ruled that patents are merely government franchises that can be stripped at any point in time during the life of the patent regardless of how much time or money has been invested by the patent owner. It simply cannot make any sense for all patents to become increasingly worthless simply because of the victimization of large multinational corporations who are incapable of crafting a strategy that solves the nuisance litigation problem that does not destroy the entire system.

Christmas Gifts for Patent Attorneys in 2021: From Tools for Psychic Clarity to Fun Ways to Celebrate Science

The year 2021 has been a relatively good one for proponents of improving scientific innovation by way of protections for patent rights. Several breakthrough COVID-19 vaccines have been developed by major R&D firms in the pharmaceutical sector, and despite some myopic posturing by several global leaders, a waiver of international IP obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has not materialized, ensuring that R&D leaders are properly incentivized to continue pursuing advanced treatments and vaccines for new variants like omicron. Although leading scientists certainly deserve more celebrity status for their advances, patent attorneys are often the unsung heroes of innovation who ensure that protectable property rights arising from those inventions are registered and can be licensed for society’s greater benefit. You can indulge the patent attorney in your life this Christmas with several of the following items that are designed to help attorneys during their daily practice, commemorate early career successes, or provide a fun outlet when an attorney needs to get away from work.

The Most (Potentially) Consequential ITC Decisions of 2021

This has been a year full of ups and downs, including at the International Trade Commisison (ITC). The ITC has stayed open for business, instituting a near-record number of investigations and holding hearings, albeit virtually. There have been a number of ITC decisions with interesting holdings, all of which have been covered well here and in other blogs. However, there have been a number of ITC-related happenings in 2021 which, though they received less coverage, may, like the proverbial butterfly, have important ramifications for years to come.

Collaborative Patenting: The Future of IP and Innovation

Collaboration has invariably helped people to maneuver the most significant challenges and hurdles. Like all other human accomplishments, technology players have collaborated and enforced methodologies to avert any obstacles faced while creating innovation-driven sustainable businesses, to enable technology-driven societies. While innovation can be both an individual and collective endeavor, shaping the final consumer product/service demands collaborative innovation and coordinated policies and frameworks. 

Other Barks & Bites for Friday, December 17: Mauskopf Says AO Will Study Western Texas Patent Case Assignments, USPTO Proposes Rule on Electronic-Only Patent Certificates, and Senate Confirms Lucy Koh to the Ninth Circuit

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the U.S. Senate confirms the appointment of Judge Lucy Koh to the bench of the Ninth Circuit; the Federal Circuit affirms a summary judgment ruling of no induced infringement in an international patent case over plastics manufacturing; the Supreme Court denies an appeal of the French government’s sovereign immunity win over cybersquatting claims; the Senate Commerce Committee approves a bill that would increase foreign direct investment into semiconductor manufacturing; Judge Mauskopf sends a letter indicating that the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts will consider concerns raised regarding case assignment policies in the Waco Division of the Western District of Texas; the USPTO proposes a rule that would end the practice of mailing printed patent certificates upon issuance in favor of electronic-only patent certificates; and news reports indicate that Oracle is seeking a major acquisition of a medical records and software firm.