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August 31, 2011
Temporarily Immunized
John Classen got patents for immunizing mammals on a schedule, and
determining whether there is an effect; patents which the patent office should
have never allowed:
5,723,283;
6,420,139; &
6,638,739. Then Classen sued a bunch of companies for infringing. The
district court ruled the patents §101 ineligible, which the CAFC affirmed, which
the Supreme Court vacated in view of Bilski, which came back to the CAFC,
where, 2-1, the CAFC changed its mind on 2 of the 3 patents. In sum, further
evidence that case law is a crock for a crooked game.
Continue reading "Temporarily Immunized"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:05 PM | § 101
August 29, 2011
Distributed Incompetence
Mitsui Bussan Logistics tried to get a patent on product distribution chain
management (10/798,505).
The examiner at the PTO was typically feeble in
examination, as was the patent board. At the CAFC,
Judges Linn and Gajarsa illicitly ran
over the claims. In dissent, Judge Newman was the only competent party in the
chain of adjudication. One more chip on the plentiful pile of evidence that the U.S. patent system is
dysfunctional and corrupted.
Continue reading "Distributed Incompetence"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:00 PM | § 112
August 27, 2011
Dem' Bones
6,440,392
claims a nasal spray for treating osteoporosis, a bone disease caused by
unhealthy lifestyle. As with many patented drugs, corporations make enormous
profits in the U.S. treating the sufferings of the ill-disciplined. '392 owner
Unigene Labs sued Apotex, a Canadian firm, for trying to muscle its way into a
duopoly by filing an ANDA, which invariably sets up a patent battle that the
upstart hopes to win, usually by invalidating the patent. It didn't work this
time. '392 was found valid, both at district court, and on appeal, where the
CAFC set its own formula for chemical obviousness - for this case at least.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 6:55 PM | Prior Art
August 26, 2011
Butted
For years, Star Scientific has been trying to smoke R.J. Reynolds Tobacco for
infringing its tobacco curing patents:
6,202,649 &
6,425,401, but couldn't get the match to strike. Down-and-dirty litigation
tactics tarnished Star.
As usual, the corporate giant won again, as the CAFC displayed divisions within.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 1:07 PM | § 112
August 24, 2011
Factored
Genetics
Institute (GI) sued Novartis under
35 U.S.C. § 291, declaring an interference between Genetic's'
4,868,112 and Novartis'
6,228,620 and
6,060,447, to determine priority. All go to recombinant proteins, ostensibly
to treat hemophilia with clotting blood. The point was to invalidate claims of
Novartis' patents. The district court dismissed, holding that there was no
interference, because the claimed subject matter didn't overlap. Genetics
appealed.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:00 PM | Interference
August 23, 2011
Wafer Whiffle
6,826,298 claims an automated semiconductor wafer defect inspection system.
Owner Camtek asserted against August Technology, winning a $6.8 million award
for lost profits and an injunction. August Tech appealed. An interesting claim
construction issue over a wafer being wafers is walked all over by the CAFC
extending the § 102(b) on-sale bar to cover eventual invention.
Continue reading "Wafer Whiffle"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 4:47 PM | Prior Art
August 19, 2011
The Scoop
The
Wall Street Journal has an investment tip: "for
bargain stocks, check the patent office... Big patent portfolios are
increasingly being used as financial weapons... Patent-stuffed companies might
be richer than they look." The problem, according to WSJ and an Ocean Tomo
poobah: "valuing just one patent can take weeks and cost tens of thousands of
dollars." That's because Ocean Tomo is not very adept at the sport of kings.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 9:01 PM | Patents In Business
August 17, 2011
Court Fraud
CyberSource got
6,029,154 for an online credit card fraud prevention
invention. '154 prevents fraud by comparing the Internet address used for an
online purchase with those previously used. CyperSource asserted '154 against Retail Decisions, who
initiated an ex parte reexam, leaving the court case stayed pending
reexam. The reexam came back with amended claims, which were promptly §101
bounced by the district court under the CAFC's then-extant Bilski ruling, as "an unpatentable mental
process..." CyberSource appealed to the CAFC, who once again expansively
exercised its brazen biases. The lawless caprice of the CAFC continues.
Continue reading "Court Fraud"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 10:57 AM | § 101
August 15, 2011
Arming
As
a relative newcomer, Google has been light in its quiver of patent arrows. Its
bid to buy the 6,000-strong Nortel patent horde was
crushed
by a consortium. Google has decided to arm itself by acquisition of Motorola
Mobility for $12.5 billion, the rump leftover of a once-promising technology
company. The phone business itself means much less to Google than the 17,000
patents that would pad its own thin portfolio, as counterpunch protection for
its own Android mobile operating system, being assailed for patent
infringement by competitors.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 9:16 PM | Patents In Business
August 14, 2011
Self Help
Republican
Representative Darrell Issa is a sharp
cookie. For years he sponsored bills to
educate
the halfwits on the federal bench about patent law; ultimately
unsuccessfully. As the
New York Times reports, Issa has been more successful pulling pork into his
district, with no repulsion to helping himself to some juicy slices in the
process. Issa has avoided conflicts of interests between his extensive business
holdings and his role as public servant by paying the concept little heed.
Issa's gung-ho love of lucre and exploitation of the system certainly embodies
the American way.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:22 PM | The Patent System
Snip
Hal
Wegner predicts "The Leahy Smith America Invents Act is likely to be
enacted this year." The icing on top of that rotten cake is "that there will
nevertheless be a significant fee diversion that will occur later this year:
This will occur as a result of the debt ceiling legislation that has created a
'Super Committee' to propose massive budget cuts." The wretched incompetence of
the federal government spirals down. While the patent office has had years of
sufficient funds, it has made little progress in streamlining its operations or
improving the quality of examination. The coming consequence of the inevitable
will be to provide a ready excuse for the PTO's performance - not enough funds
to do a decent job. But not everything is going down. The BPAI backlog, already
on a steep ascent owing to excremental examination, will reach liftoff velocity,
as the chimera of patents as a spur to the economy slips further into the haze.
Posted by Patent Hawk at 8:55 AM | The Patent Office
August 11, 2011
Claim Curmudgeon
North Georgia Judge Thomas Thrash is a claim construction curmudgeon.
6,587,550 claim 13, an email apparatus claim, reads "the computer being
programmed to detect analyze the electronic mail communication." Oops.
What else could it be but "detect and analyze"? After all,
you can't go dropping verbs for claim construction. Thrash trashed
about, spooked to fix it, so he ruled the claim indefinite. The CAFC patched it
and pitched it back.
Continue reading "Claim Curmudgeon"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 10:02 PM | Claim Construction
August 10, 2011
Abolish Patents
Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution exhorts "To promote
the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to
Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
Discoveries." In 1787, inventors' "discoveries" were mechanical and
chemical. Very few would have met the
KSR v. Teleflex novelty requirement,
which by court fiat removed incremental invention as patentable. Times change,
as does the leading edge of technology. Now, the best way "to promote the
progress..." is to eliminate patents altogether.
Continue reading "Abolish Patents"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 4:30 PM | The Patent System
August 5, 2011
Rear Wheels
Albert
Fairclough got
5,622,375 for a two-child push-chair. During
earlier prosecution of the
family, Fairclough found out about a couple of highly material prior art
references, which he duly neglected to inform the USPTO of. Joovy, '375 owner,
sued Target, which admitted infringement, but asserted prior art invalidity and
unenforceability by inequitable conduct. The North Texas district court granted
summary judgment of inequitable conduct, but denied invalidity. The CAFC flipped
that sunny-side up: broadening claim construction on "rear wheels," thus paving
the path to anticipation, while not bothering with unenforceability.
Continue reading "Rear Wheels"
Posted by Patent Hawk at 12:33 PM | Prior Art
August 1, 2011
Worthless Wireless
The
USPTO still grants patents, but the valuable ones are more likely than not to be
taken away upon reexamination, if not by the courts beforehand. The courts often
deal patently death with lawyerly cunning, giving a patent some legal grace
with one hand while stabbing it to death with the other. Five years ago NTP managed to scrap
$612+ million
from Research in Motion for patents that now prove invalid on reexam. Patent
extortion is like comedy - timing is everything.
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