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December 29, 2008
Get Out of Town
Lear
sued TS Tech for patent infringement in the Eastern District of Texas. Judge T.
John Ward denied TS Tech's transfer motion. In a ruling of thin logic, failing
to explain its reasoning beyond trivial convenience, Lear's interlocutory
petition for writ of
mandamus is granted by the CAFC. Is this the beginning of the end for efficient
patent justice in this country?
Continue reading "Get Out of Town"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:51 AM | Case Law | Comments (3)
December 27, 2008
Not Blissed
Sundance
sued DeMonte for infringing
5,026,109, claiming a retractable tarp. "Demonte's patent law expert, Daniel
Bliss, opined that one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to
combine" two prior art references to render '109 obvious. The jury bought it,
but not the judge, who figured the prior art didn't cover it, even considering
testimony from Bliss. On appeal, the CAFC was less than blissed with Bliss.
Continue reading "Not Blissed"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:46 AM | Case Law | Comments (12)
December 26, 2008
Mundane
Indubitably
unbiased, InformationWeek's Microsoft blogger, Dave Methvin,
laments small fry with software patents. "It seems like every few months,
some obscure company is awarded a patent for some relatively mundane idea, then
turns around and sues the companies that have been using it... It's a shame that
companies can exploit the patent system to prevent advances in software."
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:01 PM | Litigation | Comments (3)
December 25, 2008
Gin Rummy
The
U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows it knows how to stew analytic gumbo - its
recommendations for the USPTO seamlessly blend fact and fiction.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 3:24 PM | The Patent Office | Comments (1)
Driving
Ricoh sued Quanta for infringing four optical disc drive patents.
6,631,109
was stomped by Obzilla.
6,172,955,
5,063,552 and
6,661,755 were found not
infringed. The appeals court
thought Ricoh should have gotten a better shake on '522 and '755, particularly with
contributory and inducing infringement. A 2-1 CAFC decision skating on thin ice
by analogizing with copyrights in lieu of more properly digging into patent law.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:52 PM | Case Law
December 22, 2008
Funked Koo Kung Fu
IBM
inventors Fred Koo and Ting Leung got their database query modification patent
application sua sponte kicked in its Bilski on BPAI appeal. The decision
shows how moronically the CAFC
In re Bilski
ruling is being applied. Not that something better could have been expected.
Continue reading "Funked Koo Kung Fu"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:29 PM | § 101 | Comments (21)
December 21, 2008
Sour Grapes
6,673,064
claims a laser catheter. Dr. Peter Rentrop sicked '064 on Spectranetics, and
copped a cool half million. Spectranetics, after sloppily stirring as
much trouble for Rentrop as it could, appealed losing on obviousness, among
other profundities. The appeals court reminded Spectranetics that they could
have floated that boat, but didn't, and it's water under the bridge now.
Continue reading "Sour Grapes"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:28 PM | Prior Art | Comments (1)
December 20, 2008
Pole Position
Gary
Wheeler cast for a fishing pole patent, and got snagged by the patent appeals
board, which found Wheeler's illuminated transparent pole anticipated by fishing
pole with a light bulb attached to the tip. The CAFC illuminated the pathetic
shambles that the rejection-crazed patent office has become: they don't even
comprehend
§102.
Continue reading "Pole Position"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:47 PM | Prior Art | Comments (15)
Loop in the Lasso
35 U.S.C. § 271 defines "infringement of patent." ¶ (f)
closed a dodge: foreign assembly that would be infringing if done domestically.
The Supreme Court, in
Microsoft v. AT&T, declared software an exception to that - one could skirt
process infringement by shipping a software disc out of the country. Did that
leave the 2005 CAFC ruling in Union Carbide v. Shell Oil standing, where
"Section 271(f) applies to components used in the performance of patented
methods and processes"? For now, in another highlight of the illogical
incongruities in U.S. patent law.
Continue reading "Loop in the Lasso"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:22 PM | Damages
December 19, 2008
Vaccination
Bilski
has no basis in statute, and by any reasonable metric of jurisprudence, is
downright bad case law. That's right, Chief Judge Michel, I am addressing you,
sir. You are just making stuff up willy-nilly. But it doesn't help that
prosecutors draft jackass claims, which examiners let pass, and then, rather
than sicing the big-footed Obzilla on them for a good stomping, it's just too
easy to rule: "damn, son, you can't patent that." We are talking a chronic
disorder here.
Continue reading "Vaccination"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:57 PM | § 101 | Comments (23)
December 18, 2008
Patent Law Outline
The
best patent law blogs act as a ready reference for case law. The
Patent Prospector attempts this by
covering CAFC cases with copious quotation, the entries categorized. Michael G.
Sullivan's The Power of the Outline
takes a different, rather extraordinary approach, beguiling in its simplicity.
In doing so, Mr. Sullivan has produced an invaluable resource: a taxonomic synopsis
of patent cases.
Continue reading "Patent Law Outline"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:38 PM | Case Law | Comments (1)
Chucked
In
June, Nintendo
sued Nyko for its award-winning Nunchuk video game controller, Nintendo
calling Nyko's version a copycat of its patented design. Wednesday they settled,
in an agreement undisclosed, other than Nyko can sell a redesigned version.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:07 AM | Patents In Business
December 17, 2008
Tossed
Asokkumar
Pal looked away from the screen and wiped his eyes. He was tired. He'd been with
the agency 25 years. A long haul. Now it had crumbled away, as if he was a wad
of paper, to be used and tossed. It wasn't right. He did the best he could. His
resolve stiffened. He would not go quietly.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 3:06 PM | The Patent Office | Comments (7)
Nearly Done Deal
Reflecting
Alcatel-Lucent
circling the wagons, they settled with Microsoft on six patent litigations
dating back to 2002, before Lucent was acquired by Alcatel. One
still-outstanding tab is a $ half-billion trial verdict overhang against
Microsoft on touch-screen technology. Expect that to be wrestled to the ground
soon in another settlement coquettishly termed "mutually beneficial."
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:53 AM | Patents In Business
December 16, 2008
Nipped in the Bud
Anheuser-Busch
settled a lawsuit brought by a Quebec company asserting
6,852,191, claiming a double-sided label technology. The only comment on the
settlement from a relieved A-B attorney was "mutually agreeable terms," and
perhaps a mumbled "it's Miller time."
Continue reading "Nipped in the Bud"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:52 PM | Litigation
Jurisdiction
The
appeals court is sponsoring a shell game against folks threatened with patent
infringement by foreign companies. Aten, a Taiwanese company, affiliated with
IOGEAR, sent threatening letters of infringement regarding patented KVM switch
technology. Recipient Avocent sought declaratory judgment in Alabama, where it
is located. The district court pitched the case for lack of personal
jurisdiction, stating that the letters weren't enough, and 2-1, CAFC panel
Judges Linn and Schall agreed. In dissent, Judge Newman argued that the majority
had "no basis for this delicate distinction" upon which they relied, that they
failed to grasp the big picture, and that fairness was paramount "where there is
no other forum for this complaint." (CAFC
2007-1553).
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:20 PM | Declaratory Judgment
December 15, 2008
Fingered
Welker
Bearing sued PHD for infringing patents claiming clamping
fingers securing a work piece for welding. The disputed claim term was
"mechanism for moving said finger," construed as a means-plus-function claim.
While "means for" typically signals the claim form, "mechanism" is a sometimes
substitute term for "means."
Posted by Patent Hawk at 6:47 PM | Claim Construction
December 14, 2008
Backlog
The
root problem with patent quality has always been with the patent office. The
current USPTO administration has rightly received nothing but criticism for its
high-handed rules changes, poisonous work environment leading to massive
attrition, shoddy examination regime, and blame game on applicants. In testimony
last week before Congress, former PTO heads nattered about backlog.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:42 PM | The Patent Office | Comments (10)
Falling
Nortel
and Alcatel are exemplary telecom and network companies falling fast in the wake
of the world recession. Nortel is even facing demise. Once fierce in their
patent bite, they are now looking mostly just long in the tooth.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:22 AM | Patents In Business
December 13, 2008
Blue Grass
iLOR
sued Google for infringing
7,206,839. Losing claim construction, the Kentucky district court judge
denied iLOR's preliminary injunction motion, granted Google's summary judgment
of noninfringement, and sua sponte dismissed the "action" with prejudice. On
appeal, the CAFC figured the goose wasn't yet cooked, as Google had outstanding
counterclaims. The single disputed claim term shows that stretching claim
construction to incredulity is a surefire formula for throwing away money on
lawyers.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:23 PM | Claim Construction
December 12, 2008
Unpredictable
Apotex tried to muscle in on the market for
Plavix, a blood clot treatment,
by challenging the validity of
4,847,265, owned by Sanofi. '265 claims a
chemical compound, which Apotex argued anticipated in the prior art, and
obvious. The courts sided with Sanofi. Plavix turns out to be one tricky
concoction.
Continue reading "Unpredictable"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:44 AM | Prior Art
December 6, 2008
In the Pool
Stanford
University academics Ryan Lampe and Petra Moser, in "Do
Patent Pools Encourage Innovation?":
Regulators favor patent pools to encourage innovation in industries where overlapping patents and excessive litigation suppress innovation. With patent pools, member firms share patents freely with each other and offer one-stop licenses to outside firms. Thus patent pools are expected to promote innovation by reducing litigation risks for pool members and lowering transaction costs for outside firms. Our data confirm that pools reduce litigation risks for members and that pool members patent more in the years leading up to the pool. Pool members, however, patent less as soon as the pool is established and only resume patenting after the pool dissolves. Performance data suggest that innovation slowed as soon as the pool had been established and resumed only after the pool had been dissolved.
Continue reading "In the Pool"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 2:03 PM | Antitrust | Comments (3)
December 5, 2008
Dead Man's Hand
Lame
duck USPTO lawyer James Toupin did his best to sew a silk purse from a sow's ear
in oral arguments at the CAFC today, in
USPTO v. Tafas &
GSK. Of course, anyone who will say anything to win arguments is oxymoronic
to having integrity. In this case, the disgraceful USPTO argued that its rules
to limit continuations are piddling, while the reality is the rule changes are
substantial, and the likely impacts considerable.
Continue reading "Dead Man's Hand"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 7:24 PM | The Patent Office | Comments (63)
December 4, 2008
Rutabaga
Samy
Gharb fell off the turnip truck and wandered into the Federal Circuit Court of
Appeals. After having his patent assertion against Unitronics squashed flatter
than hammered shit, including "a permanent injunction to preclude Gharb from
threatening Unitronics and its customers with infringement litigation," Gharb,
unable to read the legal dictum on the wall, appealed.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:40 AM | Litigation | Comments (4)
Distinction
The
USPTO rules changes successfully challenged by Dr. Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline
head to oral arguments before the CAFC Friday. The beetles in the patent office
rolling their dung ball up the hill this far practically defines the difference
between determined cunning and intelligence.
Continue reading "Distinction"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:14 AM | The Patent Office | Comments (3)
December 1, 2008
Consequence of Silence
Qualcomm
"breached its duty to disclose" two patents before a standards-setting
organization, the Joint Video Team (JVT). Consequently, the district court
deemed the patents "unenforceable against the world," and, finding the case
exceptional, awarded competitive combatant Broadcom attorneys fees. The appeals
court found "the scope of the remedy of unenforceability as applying to the
world... too broad."
Continue reading "Consequence of Silence"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 11:21 PM | Inequitable Conduct
Whaling
Two
recent Supreme Court cases affirming the power of the police state, unrelated to
the mercantile motives of patents, nonetheless toll the death knell for the
"substantial question of patentability" defense in fighting a patent-holder's
motion for a preliminary injunction. Judge Newman, in a 2-1 decision in
Abbott v. Sandoz
last month, read the tea leaves, leaving dissenting Judge Gajarsa wagging a
worthless finger.
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