Posts in IP News
Advice for Young Inventors
Inventing success for young inventors comes when they are passionate, inspired and dedicated, which is not unlike success in all areas of life... While passion is required, …
Executives for America’s tech giants refuse to come to Congress to testify on net neutrality
The Facebooks, Googles and Netflixes of the world, edge providers that provide Internet services via websites but not an Internet connection like ISPs offer, have every reason …
The PTAB’s dramatic effect on patent value and corresponding disincentives to capital allocation
Whether one celebrates or decries the PTAB, there can be little doubt that it has worked a profound effect on the value of American patents—and, concomitantly, …
The failed PTAB experiment has been a colossal mistake
The five year experiment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is a colossal mistake. It is a failure to inventors, startups, early stage investors, job …
Federal Circuit Reverses and Remands Dismissal of Direct and Indirect Infringement Claims
A party need not prove its infringement case with detailed facts at the pleadings stage. For direct infringement, it is sufficient to identify where the alleged infringement …
Federal Circuit says Secondary Considerations Not Part of Prima Facie Obviousness Analysis
Objective indicia must be evaluated before drawing an ultimate conclusion on obviousness, but are not necessarily part of a prima facie “motivation-to-combine” analysis. To prove inequitable conduct …
Conservatives’ Letter to U.S. Senate Says Preserve Bayh-Dole
Though aimed at certain pharmaceutical products, Sens. Angus King’s and Bernie Sanders’ potential amendments would throw the key to the Bayh-Dole Act’s success —certainty and …
USPTO Update from John Cabeca, Silicon Valley Director
One area the Office is reviewing is in the area of Examiner Time Analysis. The Office hasn’t changed the classification of applications (i.e., complex versus …
The Increasingly Powerful PTAB: Underutilized Precedential Designations Undermines Efficiency and Consistency
The PTO has increased the number of Board decisions as being precedential (so as to serve as a binding authority) by 36% within the last two years. With …
Crossing the Chasm: Avoiding and Surviving the PTAB
In 2012, the American Invents Act established three new administrative procedures: post grant review (PGR), inter-partes review (IPR), and covered business method patent (CBM) review. In each of …
EPO ready for the first Unitary Patent as soon as the ratification requirements are met
One of the great aspects of the Unitary Patent is that it follows the normal EPO procedure up to grant. And indeed, the search and the examination …
A review of enhanced damages since Halo: Minimizing potential exposure to enhanced damages
Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Halo, there have been approximately 100 cases analyzing whether the adjudged infringer acted egregiously/willfully en route to a determination of …
How the New USPTO Director Can Impact Patent Subject Matter Eligibility and Post-Patent Grant Challenge Proceedings
As the challenge proceedings and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board mark their fifth anniversary, we should reflect on whether they have achieved their intended purpose. About …
Patent owners negatively impacted by PTAB file amicus brief with SCOTUS in support of Oil States
A few dozen amici briefs have been filed in the case, including one filed on August 30th by 39 patent owners affected by PTAB activities in support of …
How to Participate in Open Source While Maintaining IP Integrity
The key idea is to think strategically about the software, the value it can provide to the company, and whether the technology should be developed in-house. In …
