Design Patents at the PTAB?
By John Evans Ph.D. and John Froemming In the wake of the high-profile dispute in Apple v. Samsung, design patent procurement and enforcement activity has increased significantly. But practitioners may not appreciate that design patent validity can be attacked using...
PTAB Denies Motion to Withdraw as IPR Counsel
By Jeff Giering, Ph.D. and Carl Kukkonen In an order entered June 30, 2017, the PTAB denied a motion by counsel for patent owner Purple Leaf, LLC (“Counsel”) to withdraw from representation in a trio of IPRs (IPR2016-01720, IPR2016-01721, and IPR2016-01722). Counsel...
Known Solution to General Problem Provides Sufficient Motivation to Modify Prior Art
By Dominic J. Yee, Ph.D. and J. Patrick Elsevier, Ph.D. In a final written decision in Bass, et al., v. Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC (IPR2016-00254), the PTAB found that the challenged claims of Fresenius’s U.S. Patent No. 8,476,010, directed to a sterile pharmaceutical...
Senate Bill for STRONGER Patents Act Aims to Address Key PTAB Patent Owner Woes
By Doug Pearson On June 21, Senators Chris Coons (D-Del), Tom Cotton (R-Ark), Dick Durbin (D-Ill), and Mazie Hironoa (D-Hawaii) introduced a bill entitled the “Support Technology & Research for Our Nation’s Growth and Economic Resilience Patents Act of 2017” (or...
Federal Circuit Denies Motion to Stay Pending Supreme Court Decision in Oil States
By Josh Nightingale and Matt Johnson On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Oil States Energy Servs., LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, to decide whether inter partes review (IPR) violates the Constitution by extinguishing patent rights...