IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law http://www.ipwatchdog.com Patents, Patent Applications, Patent Law Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:40:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 ACLU Should Be Hit With Rule 11 Sanctions http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/20/aclu-should-be-hit-with-rule-11-sanctions/id=7351/ http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/11/20/aclu-should-be-hit-with-rule-11-sanctions/id=7351/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:40:28 +0000 Dale B. Halling http://www.ipwatchdog.com/?p=7351
  • Fired Up: Challenging the Constitutionality of the Patent ActThe Plaintiffs allege that because human genes should not be patented.  Hardly something that anyone can argue.  The only trouble is that this is not what the US Patent Office allows, and it is not what Myriad Genetics has been granted a patent on.  Nevertheless, the frivolous ACLU lawsuit that seeks to use the US [...]...
  • ACLU Files Frivolous Lawsuit Challenging PatentsThe ACLU should be sanctioned for its frivolous lawsuit challenging gene patents, which was filed Tuesday in the United States Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York.  This lawsuit is nothing more than grandstanding, it presents frivolous arguments and outright lies.  The ACLU would have you believe that the patents cover naturally [...]...
  • San Francisco Chronicle Thinks Gravity is an IdeaThere are a lot of crazies coming out of the woodwork with respect to the ACLU’s efforts to have the patent laws of the United States declared unconstitutional.  Perhaps you have heard, the ALCU is standing up for breast cancer patients because Myriad Genetics has patented genes.  How awful really.  Not that Myriad has patented [...]...
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  • David Kappos Confirmed as USPTO DirectorWith no notice to the public, and after the Senate was reported to have adjourned for their August recess, on Friday, August 7, 2009, David Kappos was confirmed as Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While I applaud the quick action by the Senate to [...]...
  • Kappos Nomination Unanimously Forwarded to Full SenateEarlier today the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of David Kappos, former Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for IBM, to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, a job that also comes with the title of Director of the Patent and Trademark Office.  The vote in the Judiciary Committee was unanimous, [...]...
  • David Kappos Shines at Senate Confirmation HearingTo start the confirmation proceedings in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced David Kappos this morning with a lengthy and impressive recitation of Kappos’ credentials and experience.  He started out with IBM as an engineer after graduating with highest honors from the University of California Davis with a degree in electrical and [...]...
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  • Proposal to Support PTO, Entrepreneurs & InventorsYeseterday I wrote an article titled Obama to Fund Entrepreneurs in Latin America.  In this article I discussed President Obama’s remarks while at the Summitt of the Americas, particularly picking up on his pledge to send $448 million dollars to foreign countries impacted by the economic crisis, and a plan to create a fund to restart the [...]...
  • Choosing The Right Corporate Structure For Your BusinessIn recent years the Limited Liability Company, which is typically referred to simply as an LLC, has become the darling of entrepreneurs and small businesses around the country. But the LLC is not always the best choice. Sometimes a Subchapter S corporation or another structure is preferable. This article helps you choose the right structure [...]...
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  • ACLU Should Be Hit With Rule 11 SanctionsIn the ACLU v. Myriad case, the ACLU has alleged that the patents involved in the case cover genes found in nature. This statement is so patently (pun intended) false, that the ACLU either purposely deceived the court or is guilty of gross negligence about the facts plead in the case. As Gene [...]...
  • Thank You David Kappos! USPTO Extends CommentsLast week I wrote an article titled Inauspicious Start to Greater USPTO Transparency, in which I wrote about how disappointed I was that some things never seem to change at the Patent Office.  I was referring to the fact that a Federal Register Notice had been published on September 17, 2009, and gave until September [...]...
  • The Case Against Gene PatentsI favor innovation, and am interested in ensuring that science and technology work hand in hand to both better our standard of living, and enrich those who create new and useful works. But it is not necessarily true that current intellectual property laws always accomplish this. Nor is it so that everything under [...]...
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  • Another KSR RetrospectiveOn that fateful day some 27 months ago, April 30, 2007 to be precise, the United States Supreme Court decided that the well established and functional bright line rule for obviousness was too rigid.  No longer must there be a teaching, motiviation or suggestion to render an invention unpatentable for obviousness reasons.  No in this [...]...
  • Machine Might Not be Patentable Subject MatterLast week I was in Arlington, Virginia, teaching the PLI Patent Bar Review Course, so I was a bit out of touch with what was happening in the patent world as I tried to help a number of would-be patent attorneys and agents get through the PLI immersion course. Like clockwork, during this time out [...]...
  • Obscure Patents: KSR Does Not Mean MuchSo much has been made about the United States Supreme Court's decision in KSR v. Teleflex, which happened just over 2 years ago. Occasionally I like to take a look at how the Patent Office is handling KSR. Admittedly, this is not a scientific study, and is more aimed at having fun and perhaps also explaining so we never forget just how absurd the Supreme Court's decision in KSR actually was. Those familiar with the KSR decision and history will recall that the non-patent experts on the Supreme Court, including Justice Antonin Scalia who openly admitted he didn't understand patent...
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  • Washington Redskins Win, Can Keep TrademarkAs a fan of the Dallas Cowboys it is hard to write about a Redskins victory, but the victory scored by Pro-Football, Inc. on behalf of the Redskins means that the Redskin trademarks will remain intact.  The ruling providing this victory for the Redskins came down on Friday May, 15, 2009, and should once and [...]...
  • Comparative Advertising: BK vs. McDonalds and Wendy’sToday I was searching the Internet for some interesting news to write about and I stumbled upon a press release from Burger King regarding its a ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger now being available for only $1. In some markets the ¼ pound Double Cheeseburger has been available for $1 for the past 18 months, but [...]...
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  • Congress Urges Strong IP Stance in UN Climate Change TalksAs first reported by Bartholomew Sullivan of The Commercial Appeal, last week, on October 22, 2009, thirty-four members of Congress wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to steadfastly support strong intellectual property rights and not to given in to international demands that would weaken intellectual property rights, particularly patent rights. [...]...
  • Secretary Locke Promises Strongest IP Protection in the WorldI am just getting back from two days at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, having attended the 14th Annual Inventors Conference.  There is much to report, and much to write about, and I will continue to digest, analyze and write about what I saw and my impressions in the days to come.  It [...]...
  • Help Arrives! Nick Godici Returns to Patent OfficeU.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke yesterday announced the appointment of former USPTO official and long-time patent professional Nicholas P. Godici as a special advisor to the USPTO.  On announcing the return of Godici, Secretary Locke said: “I’m counting on Nick to use his decades of experience to help us strengthen the management of the USPTO [...]...
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  • USPTO Agrees to Withdraw Claims & Continuations Rules PRESS RELEASE: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) today announced that it has reached agreement with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to join the USPTO’s motion to dismiss its litigation over Final Regulations published in August 2007 (Triantafyllos Tafas and SmithKline Beecham Corporation, SmithKline Beecham PLC and Glaxo Group Limited vs. David J. Kappos and the [...]...
  • Federal Circuit to Rehear Tafas and GSK v. DollOn Monday, July 6, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (minus Judge Lourie who did not participate in the poll of judges) decided to rehear the claims and continuations rule challenge of Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline en banc.  Additionally, the CAFC has vacated the panel decision that awarded a victory to [...]...
  • Kappos Rescinds Claims & Continuations Rules, What Next?By now most are likely aware of, or rapidly becoming aware of, the fact that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has finally done the right thing and has scrapped the claims and continuations rules that have divided the patent community for the last 26 months.  It is impossible not to recognize the new [...]...
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  • A Bird’s Eye View of the Bilski Oral ArgumentUnlike Gene I did not really plan very well. I did not have credentials and am not (yet) a member of the Court. So, I was in line with the public. A patent centric public, but the public none-the-less. My fellow line standers included: Law students headed to taking the patent bar; a Finnegan partner [...]...
  • Bilski: Eyewitness Report and Expert Analysisn Monday, November 9, 2009, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the much anticipated Bilski case, which could well decide once and for all whether business methods and software remain patentable in the United States. I will be in attendance at the oral argument, which will take place after a [...]...
  • Argument Day in Bilski at US Supreme CourtLater today the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Bilski matter. It is not an overstatement to say that the fate of much future innovation rests squarely on the Supreme Court getting this one right, so lets hope for the best and pray that they do get this one right. [...]...
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  • Beware of Viruses When Looking for Love OnlinePC Tools, a leading security software vendor with offices in Sydney, San Francisco, London, Shannon (Ireland), Melbourne, Kiev, and Boulder,  today issued a warning  to caution Internet users that virtual venues for dating, social networking, and adult entertainment all present dangerous digital risks from computer viruses, spyware and phishing, and with Valentine’s Day tomorrow the holiday [...]...
  • CAFC Gives Microsoft Word Stay, and I HATE Vista!By now most probably know that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted Microsoft a stay of the injunction against Word pending its expedited patent appeal.  The Federal Circuit granted the stay of the permanent injunction on September 3, 2009, but I had a very difficult time finding the ruling.  Being [...]...
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  • Bilski Arguments Complete at the US Supreme CourtAt 2pm ET on November 9, 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts gaveled the session to a close announcing that the case had now been submitted. The arguments were good, and the Court was most assuredly hot, peppering both sides with question after question seeking to probe the issues. It is clear that [...]...
  • Bilski: Eyewitness Report and Expert Analysisn Monday, November 9, 2009, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the much anticipated Bilski case, which could well decide once and for all whether business methods and software remain patentable in the United States. I will be in attendance at the oral argument, which will take place after a [...]...
  • The Bilski Oral Argument Speaks Volume: Start with 35 U.S.C. § 112After Monday’s oral argument, many are trying to divine how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the Bilski v. Kappos, and whether the Federal Circuit’s “machine or transformation” test will survive. Having now read the oral argument transcript, my own prognostication is that the Federal Circuit’s “machine or transformation” test will be trounced as [...]...
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  • The Bilski Oral Argument Speaks Volume: Start with 35 U.S.C. § 112After Monday’s oral argument, many are trying to divine how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the Bilski v. Kappos, and whether the Federal Circuit’s “machine or transformation” test will survive. Having now read the oral argument transcript, my own prognostication is that the Federal Circuit’s “machine or transformation” test will be trounced as [...]...
  • Argument Day in Bilski at US Supreme CourtLater today the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Bilski matter. It is not an overstatement to say that the fate of much future innovation rests squarely on the Supreme Court getting this one right, so lets hope for the best and pray that they do get this one right. [...]...
  • Bilski Arguments Complete at the US Supreme CourtAt 2pm ET on November 9, 2009, Chief Justice John Roberts gaveled the session to a close announcing that the case had now been submitted. The arguments were good, and the Court was most assuredly hot, peppering both sides with question after question seeking to probe the issues. It is clear that [...]...
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