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June 30, 2006
Prosecution Estoppel Aide
Momentus Golf
sued Swingrite Golf for infringing
5,582,407, a "golf club
swing aide." Swingrite swung a district court summary judgment of
non-infringement based on prosecution estoppel which narrowed claim scope. Momentus
drove to the appeals court (CAFC
05-1614), which gave
the district court a mulligan.
Continue reading "Prosecution Estoppel Aide"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:20 PM | Claim Construction | Comments (2)
June 29, 2006
Intellectual Ventures
BusinessWeek has an in-depth profile of Intellectual Ventures in its most recent issue.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:51 PM | Patents In Business
June 28, 2006
Unistroke Payoff
Palm
has agreed to pay Xerox $22.5 million to settle its long-running unistroke
patent infringement suit.
Continue reading "Unistroke Payoff"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:44 AM | Litigation
June 27, 2006
Fast Track Patenting
On
Monday, the USPTO announced an
"accelerated
examination" program to go from application to grant (or denial) within one year, appeal notwithstanding. The catches are that the applicant bears the
examination burden of searching & explaining the prior art, and elucidating
enablement & definiteness, as well as limiting the claims under examination.
Continue reading "Fast Track Patenting"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:19 PM | Prosecution
June 26, 2006
Becoming Less Obvious
This morning, the Supreme Court granted KSR's writ of certiorari in its
appeal from infringing Teleflex's patents. At issue is whether prior art
anticipation is obvious absent any suggestion or motivation to combine
references. Many patented inventions are combinations of what had been
previously been known, but the combination applied in a way hitherto unknown.
Continue reading "Becoming Less Obvious"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 7:44 PM | Prior Art | Comments (4)
Obituary Page
Agfa
and Creo compete in the computer-to-plate
(CTP) large-scale printer market. Against Creo, Agfa asserted the patents of its
"Galileo" system, for creating printing plates of different sizes:
5,655,452;
5,738,014;
5,788,455;
5,791,250;
5,992,324; &
6,000,337. Creo accused Agfa or inequitable conduct, for failing to disclose
similar commercial prior art printing systems, including Creo's. Agfa patents
are now found on the obituary page. [CAFC
05-1079]
Continue reading "Obituary Page"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 4:22 PM | Inequitable Conduct
June 25, 2006
On-Sale Bar
Gemmy
Industries and Chrisha Creations compete in the holiday decoration business.
Oddly, being competitors, both companies used the same independent sales
representative, who tipped Chrisha off to Gemmy's newest products.
Gemmy went after Chrisha for imitating Gemmy's inflatable holiday figures,
charging copyright and patent infringement (6,644,843), as well as tort claims. Chrisha rebounded with claims of unfair competition
& commercial tort, plus
winning a summary judgment of patent invalidity owing to the one-year on-sale
bar, after Gemmy filed a statement by its president testifying
to selling the product over a year before filing for the patent.
Continue reading "On-Sale Bar"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:46 PM | Litigation
June 23, 2006
Busy Day at the CAFC
While the Supreme Court lazily demurred in the LabCorp
appeal on
Thursday, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (CAFC) let loose with four patent
rulings.
Continue reading "Busy Day at the CAFC"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:19 AM | Litigation
June 22, 2006
Patentability Unanswered
Labcorp's
appeal to the Supreme Court (in Metabolite v. Labcorp) was closely
watched by all involved in patent law, as it may well have decided the limits of
patentability. In a peculiar hush, the Court brushed it aside; the dissent (SC
04-607) was deafening.
Continue reading "Patentability Unanswered"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:07 PM | Litigation | Comments (1)
June 21, 2006
Infringing Ink
HP
has more than 4,000 patents related to printing supplies, many of those relating
to printer ink delivery. Like razors & razor blades, selling ink is more
profitable than selling the printers that use them. Hence, HP maintains
worldwide monitoring for patent infringement, particularly those related to
refilling ink cartridges by other companies that offer generic ink. HP let it be
known that Walgreens and Office Max are being jawboned.
Continue reading "Infringing Ink"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:56 PM | Patents In Business
June 20, 2006
Divisionals
There'll be a barrel full of howling prosecutor monkeys if the U.S. patent
office tries to trim its examination sails by
limiting continuations
and claims. For multi-faceted applications, declare your own divisions.
Continue reading "Divisionals"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 4:47 PM | Prosecution
Time Warner Strikes Back
Late
week, USA Video sued Time Warner
for infringing
5,130,792. Now Time Warner retaliates, seeking declaratory judgment of
non-infringement in Delaware district court.
Continue reading "Time Warner Strikes Back"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:00 AM | Litigation
June 19, 2006
The Weige Alliance Strikes Back
After
a rare China court appeal victory by Pfizer to protect its patent protection for
Viagra, an alliance of 13 Chinese generic drug makers have stiffened, appealing
to a higher court for the right to thrust into the virility market.
Continue reading "The Weige Alliance Strikes Back"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 10:53 PM | International
Depressing No-Go
The
Supreme Court turned away (05-489) an appeal by GlaxoSmithKline (v. Apotex) for
the
CAFC upholding an invalidity ruling on a GlaxoSmithKline patent for
Paxil®, an antidepressant. The CAFC had
ruled, "once a product is fully disclosed in the art, future claims to that same
product are precluded, even if that product is claimed as made by a new
process." The U.S. Solicitor General had declared the CAFC ruling correct.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:46 AM | Case Law
June 18, 2006
Continuation Amok
Hal Wegner reports: "The PTO appears to be moving doggedly ahead with its
proposed continuation rules to limit the number of continuation applications by
rulemaking without statutory reform. This promises to subject the agency
to unprecedented criticism from the practicing bar and key industry segments,
particularly biotechnology."
Continue reading "Continuation Amok"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 10:06 PM | Prosecution | Comments (2)
June 17, 2006
VoIP Wars
VoIP
is a cataclysmic technology for landline telephony.
Vonage is the early market leader, but,
after recently bruising itself with the second-worst IPO in U.S. history, may be
cut down by patent infringement, as freshly rabid Verizon joins Sprint Nextel in
assertion, while other VoIP patent battles rage and loom.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:34 AM | Patents In Business
June 15, 2006
Principles of Equity
z4
Technologies won a
jury
award of damages against Microsoft ($115m) and Autodesk ($18m) for
infringing software piracy patents
6,044,471 and
6,785,825. Microsoft's infringement was found willful. But the same Eastern
District of Texas court has ruled (6:06-CV-142),
in light of the recent
eBay case, that a permanent injunction against Microsoft is not within "the
principles of equity."
Continue reading "Principles of Equity"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:22 PM | Injunction | Comments (4)
June 14, 2006
Game Call Totality
Primos
sued Hunter's Specialties for infinging
5,520,567 &
5,415,578, for a product used by "outdoor enthusiasts" to deceive wildlife.
Trial didn't go well for Hunter's: literal infringement, willfulness, inducement of infringement ('567), and infringement under the doctrine of
equivalents ('578). The appeal didn't go well either. [CAFC
05-1001]
Continue reading "Game Call Totality"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:56 PM | Litigation
Blockbusting
Facing
down a patent infringement suit by Netflix for online video rentals, on Tuesday,
Blockbuster Video threw a temper tantrum in a 44-page counterclaim.
Continue reading "Blockbusting"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:04 AM | Litigation
June 13, 2006
High Voltage
Stun-gun
maker Taser sued competitor
Bestex Monday for infringing
5,078,117, which claims a compressed gas "projectile housing". Bestex shot
back with a counterclaim that Taser's supposedly non-lethal weapons were
something more.
Continue reading "High Voltage"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:05 AM | Patents In Business
June 12, 2006
Contract Dispute
Panduit sued HellermannTyton for infringing 5,998,732. They settled. Then HellermannTyton pushed Panduit's button with a modestly revised design of the original infringing product.
Continue reading "Contract Dispute"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:10 PM | Litigation
PTO Inequitable Conduct?
NTP continues to pitch a fit over alleged shenanigans by the U.S. patent office in reexamining the NTP patents that netted $612.5 million from RIM.
Continue reading "PTO Inequitable Conduct?"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 7:57 PM | The Patent Office
June 9, 2006
Buzz
Creative Technology, world leader in
sound cards, has stumbled into a patent hornets nest. In response to suing
Apple Computer over Creative's
so-called Zen patent:
6,928,433, Apple is stinging Creative with multiple patent infringement
suits.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:27 AM | Patents In Business
June 8, 2006
Return of Unistroke
Xerox
has had a hellacious struggle enforcing
5,596,656, the notorious "unistroke" patent. Xerox targeted 3Com’s
“Graffiti”, used in the Palm PDAs. In this episode of a continuing saga, the
patent lives to fight another day, as Xerox
successfully appeals (CAFC
04-1470), at least
partly, an invalidity summary judgment, because of "genuine issues of material
fact remaining in dispute."
Continue reading "Return of Unistroke"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:10 PM | Claim Construction
June 7, 2006
Solicitor General Deflated
Tom
Goldstein, representing Teleflex in the KSR v. Teleflex obviousness petition
before the Supreme Court, filed a
supplemental brief deflating the Solicitor General's (SG) certiorari
recommendation as
vacuous.
Continue reading "Solicitor General Deflated"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:18 PM | Case Law
June 6, 2006
IT Industry in Fear of Patent Trolls
"The
global IT industry lives in fear of sharp operators that file patents and sue
others that use the technology or device covered by it to force lucrative
settlements. These so-called patent trolls have no production lines or staff of
their own - they are usually merely a handful of patent lawyers. Sometimes they
simply buy patents from bankrupt companies."
Continue reading "IT Industry in Fear of Patent Trolls"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 3:58 PM | International
Great Brother
Beijing
No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Friday upheld the validity of Pfizer's
patent for Viagra in China, overturning a 2004 decision by China's patent review
board. Pfizer's shares stiffened up on the news.
Continue reading "Great Brother"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:02 AM | International
June 5, 2006
Res Judicata
Back in 1995, Dow Chemical sued Pactive for infringing
5,424,016 &
5,585,058,
which went to accelerating release of a blowing agent from a plastic foam.
Pactiv put up something of a fight with invalidity and unenforceability
counterclaims, but backed down and settled, with Pactiv signing a licensing
agreement and paying royalties. In 2002, Pactiv spontaneously ceased payment.
Continue reading "Res Judicata"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:02 PM | Patents In Business
June 4, 2006
Net2Phone Dials Skype
6,108,704
has some broad claims for point-to-point network communication. Its owner,
Net2Phone, is embarking
on an enforcement campaign that promises to be center ring of this season's
patent press circus, now that the NTP v. RIM match has folded its tent. First
shot, Net2Phone dials eBay-owned Skype
in a NJ court filing.
Continue reading "Net2Phone Dials Skype"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 4:59 PM | Litigation | Comments (1)
June 1, 2006
Sludge Match
Liquid
Dynamics (LD) sued Vaughan Company
for infringing
5,458,414. In the first round, LD successfully appealed an erroneous claim
construction. Upon remand, a district court trial found Vaughan willfully
infringed, and then in a subsequent bench trial, trebled damages and awarded
attorneys fees because of "Vaughan’s behavior as a litigant," as well as then
issuing a permanent injunction. Naturally, Vaughan appealed (CAFC
05-1105).
Continue reading "Sludge Match"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:16 PM | Case Law
Funeral Fee
HP,
Seiko Epson, and Lexmark settled out of court when Research Corporation
Technologies (RCT) came knocking for infringing its image processing patents.
Microsoft fought back, putting RCT's patents six feet under, and making RCT pay
for the burial.
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