Your search for “{search_term_string}” returned the following results.

Copyright Term: When Does a Work Enter the Public Domain?

Save as PDF

Years ago, there was a radio show that featured a lawyer who would take calls from listeners and answer their legal questions. A man called into the show and said he had obtained some photographs of warplanes from a museum. A cable …

En Banc Federal Circuit Again Declines to Apply “Clearly Erroneous” Deference to Factual Findings in Patent Claim Construction Rulings

Save as PDF

On February 21, 2014, the Federal Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Lighting Ballast Control LLC v. Philips Electronics North America Corp.  Sitting en banc, the Federal Circuit voted 6-4 to continue to adhere to its controversial precedent in Cybor Corp. v. …

Patent Term: When will a patent die?

Save as PDF

Patent owners, licensees, and applicants alike may wonder: How long is a U.S. patent enforceable? Business owners mindful of patents granted to their competitors may ask the same question.
Patent term is the maximum period of time a granted patent may be enforced.
Historically …

In Re: Power Integrations, Inc.

Save as PDF

The broadest reasonable interpretation of a claim term cannot be uncoupled from the specification or render the term meaningless in the claim
In a decision likely having implications for both patent prosecution and litigation, the Federal Circuit determined that the broadest reasonable interpretation …

Federal Circuit Rules in the Exelixis / Novartis Cases that the USPTO Has Been Partially Miscalculating Patent Term Adjustment

Save as PDF

In 1994, Congress changed the way that a patent’s term is calculated.  At that time, the term of a patent was changed from 17 years after the patent’s issue date to 20 years after its filing date.  Because delays in the Patent …

Teva v. Sandoz: Supreme Court Rules That, In Reviewing Patent Claim Constructions on Appeal, Factual Determinations Derived From Extrinsic Evidence Must Be Given “Clearly Erroneous” Deference

Save as PDF

On January 20, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc.  The Court concluded that when a district court’s claim construction is challenged on appeal, an appeals court must accept any factual determination …

Supreme Court Limits Laches as a Defense in Copyright Infringement Suits

Save as PDF

On May 19, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., addressing the applicability of the defense of laches in copyright infringement suits.  Laches is an equitable defense that traditionally applies when there is an unreasonably long and …

IP-Related Links

More information on Intellectual Property is listed below. If you have specific questions about IP law and how it pertains to your work, contact us to consult with an attorney.
Patents
Delphion Patent Search
Overview of Patent Law
Patent Law Links
Questel•Orbit Patent Search
USPTO Patent Search
United States Patent and Trademark …

Insights Search Results
Supreme Court Chooses Middle Ground in Formulating A Standard for Patent Claim Definiteness

Save as PDF

On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Nautilus v. Biosig Instruments, Inc.  At issue was the language of 35 U.S.C. § 112, which requires a patent specification to “conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing …

USPTO Fees on the Rise

Save as PDF

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) issued and published final rules for patent fees. While some fees increase slightly to obtain a patent including filing, search, examination, and issue fees, other fees, particularly those associated with AIA trials, under the …

Contract “Trick or Treat”

Save as PDF

Entering into contracts may be one of the scarier parts of doing business, but knowledge about a few common terms can help make sure you do not get tricked into an agreement that will not treat you right.
Termination. Pay attention to the …

Non-Statutory Double Patenting Rejections and Terminal Disclaimers

Save as PDF

Patent applicants who are seeking to broadly protect an invention will often file multiple patent applications on the same invention, each application having claims of different scope.  In this case, a non-statutory double patenting rejection may be issued to reject one or …

Global IP Protection for Startups – A Mixture of Filing Approaches

Save as PDF

Accessing the patent system in the US, much less international markets, intimidates even the most seasoned companies, and especially startups with a limited IP budget.  One reason is that patent prosecution costs – the costs incurred to get a filed case ready …

Appeals to Reason: The Federal Circuit Reviews the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard

Save as PDF

The broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) standard in patent examination is frequently the subject of dispute between patent practitioners, who often emphasize the “reasonable” requirement, and patent examiners, who may rely more on the term “broadest.”
Within the last 14 months, several decisions by …