Patents / Automotive
Ford fuel-injection patent win survives Ethanol Boosting appeal
A late-December Federal Circuit opinion kept focus on claim construction, prior IPR history, and engine-control patents.
Latest Articles
62 written source-linked storiesPolicy / PTAB Policy
Motorola mandamus petition tests Director power to deinstitute IPRs
A Federal Circuit order left Motorola without extraordinary relief after the Acting Director ended IPRs in view of parallel district-court litigation.
Trade Secrets / Anti-SLAPP
IQE trade-secret claims collide with California anti-SLAPP protection for patent filings
The Federal Circuit held that IQE's pleaded misappropriation theory arose from Tower's filing of patent applications.
Patents / IPR
Inland Diamond revives lens-processing patent claims after issue-preclusion ruling vacated
The Federal Circuit held that a PTAB loss on parent claims did not automatically preclude dependent claims the Board had not found unpatentable.
Policy / PTAB Policy
US Inventor challenge to PTAB rulemaking fails on standing
The Federal Circuit held that claimed future harms from IPR and PGR institution policy were too speculative to support Article III jurisdiction.
Patents / Damages
Rex Medical appeal keeps surgical-stapler damages scrutiny in view after EcoFactor
The Federal Circuit reviewed expert damages proof in a medical-device patent case involving Intuitive Surgical stapler products.
Patents / Consumer Products
Shower-curtain IP fight reaches Federal Circuit in Focus-Kartri dispute
The Federal Circuit reviewed a consumer-product case involving patent and trade-dress theories around embedded-ring shower curtains.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Bayer-Mylan appeal adds rivaroxaban method claims to 2025 Hatch-Waxman docket
The Federal Circuit reviewed treatment claims involving rivaroxaban and aspirin for reducing cardiovascular-event risk.
Patents / Prosecution
McFadden prosecution appeal narrows PTO's shortcut on apparatus eligibility
The Federal Circuit faulted the Board's categorical Section 101 treatment of apparatus and system claims.
Patents / Prosecution
Hyatt loses GATT-bubble application appeal on prosecution laches
The Federal Circuit affirmed PTO wins involving Gilbert Hyatt's older patent applications and Article III limits on pending claims.
Patents / Section 101
PowerBlock revives adjustable-dumbbell patent claims after Section 101 reversal
The Federal Circuit held that claims directed to a compact adjustable dumbbell were not abstract at Alice step one.
Patents / Energy
SunSpec-Tigo solar IPR appeal turns on 'predetermined number' claim scope
The Federal Circuit reviewed PTAB treatment of module-level solar technology claims and implicit claim construction.
Patents / IPR
Kroy-Groupon order keeps spotlight on IPR estoppel and unadjudicated claims
A Federal Circuit order continued the long-running rewards-program patent dispute after earlier PTAB and estoppel rulings.
Patents / Gaming
IGT-Zynga gaming patent appeal links interference history to later IPR strategy
The Federal Circuit reviewed a casino-gaming patent dispute involving older interference activity and Zynga's later IPR petition.
Patents / Medical Devices
Shockwave Medical IPR appeal tests obviousness of intravascular lithotripsy claims
The Federal Circuit reviewed PTAB findings on a medical-device patent directed to treating calcified vascular lesions.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Janssen loses key appeal over Teva generic schizophrenia-drug challenge
The Federal Circuit reviewed obviousness and written-description issues in a Hatch-Waxman fight over paliperidone palmitate treatment claims.
Patents / IPR
Meta keeps PTAB win in Express Mobile web-building patent appeal
The Federal Circuit reviewed claim-scope findings and prior-art mapping in an IPR over website-generation technology.
Patents / SEP
Optis-Apple appeal reshapes SEP patent fight across eligibility, means-plus-function, and damages
The Federal Circuit reviewed a large Texas verdict record involving cellular standards patents and multiple validity and evidentiary issues.
Patents / Software
Ancora-Roku appeal turns on whether 'agent' is limited to software
The Federal Circuit affirmed PTAB treatment of a security-patent term in an IPR involving Roku and Nintendo.
Patents / Section 101
PNC wins eligibility appeal over USAA mobile check-deposit patents
The Federal Circuit held that claims using OCR in remote check deposit were patent-ineligible on summary judgment.
Patents / Biotech
Agilent-Synthego CRISPR appeal puts guide-RNA obviousness back before Federal Circuit
The Federal Circuit reviewed PTAB final written decisions in related IPRs over CRISPR guide-RNA technology.
Patents / IPR
Dolby-Unified appeal spotlights Article III standing after PTAB wins
The Federal Circuit reiterated that IPR participation alone does not create appellate standing.
Patents / Mobile
Apple-Gesture IPR appeal adds second gesture-recognition fight to 2025 docket
The Federal Circuit reviewed Apple's PTAB appeal involving a Gesture Technology patent and mobile-camera interaction claims.
Patents / Damages
EcoFactor-Google en banc ruling resets scrutiny of patent damages expert proof
The Federal Circuit remanded a smart-thermostat damages case in one of 2025's most important patent opinions.
Patents / Mobile
Apple-BillJCo appeal turns on 'user action' in location-sharing IPR
The Federal Circuit reviewed PTAB findings over whether prior art disclosed a disputed user-action limitation.
Patents / Prosecution
In re Haines gives prosecutors another reminder on affidavit proof and prior art
The Federal Circuit reviewed a Board affirmance involving anticipation and an applicant affidavit.
Patents / IPR
Ingenico-IOENGINE decision clarifies IPR estoppel and public-use proof
The Federal Circuit addressed jury instructions, prior-art use at trial, and the scope of IPR estoppel.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Jazz-Avadel ruling tightens Hatch-Waxman trigger for regulatory filings
The Federal Circuit rejected the idea that a regulatory filing alone can create the artificial infringement needed for a Hatch-Waxman suit.
Patents / Section 101
Google defeats Longitude display-patent appeal on eligibility
The Federal Circuit affirmed Section 101 invalidity in a dispute involving display and device-control patent claims.
Patents / IPR
Qualcomm-Apple IPR appeal clarifies how applicant admissions can support obviousness
The Federal Circuit revisited when admitted prior art may be used in an IPR obviousness analysis without becoming the statutory basis of the ground.
Patents / AI
Fox beats Recentive machine-learning patents in eligibility ruling
The Federal Circuit held that using generic machine learning for TV network maps and live-event schedules did not supply patent-eligible subject matter.
Patents / Prosecution
Sage Products prosecution appeal shows deference to Board anticipation findings
The Federal Circuit affirmed a PTO decision after applying substantial-evidence review to anticipation findings.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Actavis ruling separates Hatch-Waxman patent litigation from FDA review
The Federal Circuit emphasized that district courts decide patent issues while FDA decides safety, effectiveness, and bioequivalence.
Patents / Biotech
Regeneron-Mylan appeal sharpens claim-separation arguments in Eylea patent fight
The Federal Circuit reviewed formulation claim language in a biologics-adjacent dispute over VEGF antagonist treatment technology.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Merck patent-term-extension appeal clarifies reissue timing in Hatch-Waxman disputes
The Federal Circuit addressed how patent term extensions apply when a reissued patent sits in the regulatory-review timeline.
Patents / ITC
Lashify wins key ITC domestic-industry ruling for imported beauty products
The Federal Circuit clarified how an American company can satisfy Section 337's domestic-industry requirement for products manufactured abroad.
Patents / IPR
Unified Patents keeps PTAB win over Gesture Technology camera patent
The Federal Circuit affirmed unpatentability findings for selected claims in Gesture's image-capture patent.
Patents / IPR
Samsung PTAB win over Lynk Labs turns on prior-art status in LED patent fight
The Federal Circuit affirmed an IPR decision involving LED technology and whether a reference qualified as prior art.
Patents / Hatch-Waxman
Allergan wins Federal Circuit limit on obviousness-type double patenting in Viberzi case
The Federal Circuit held that a later-filed, later-issued, earlier-expiring family member was not a proper ODP reference against Allergan's earlier patent.
Patents / Damages
EcoFactor-Google panel ruling tees up later en banc fight over damages proof
The Federal Circuit's 2024 panel decision in the Nest thermostat dispute became the platform for the court's later en banc damages review.
Policy / Design Patents
USPTO moves quickly after LKQ to update design-patent obviousness examination
The agency instructed design examiners and PTAB panels to apply LKQ's more flexible obviousness framework.
Patents / Design Patents
Federal Circuit overhauls design-patent obviousness in LKQ v. GM
The en banc court abandoned the Rosen-Durling framework and moved design patents toward Graham and KSR.
Patents / Prosecution
Cellect decision puts patent term adjustment at risk under obviousness-type double patenting
The Federal Circuit held that ODP analysis for PTA-extended patents looks to the expiration date after PTA is added.
Patents / IPR
Axonics wins PTAB remand after Federal Circuit faults treatment of reply arguments
The court said the Board had to consider petitioner arguments responding to a claim construction first raised by the patent owner.
Trademarks / Supreme Court
Supreme Court narrows Lanham Act reach in Abitron-Hetronic trademark fight
The Court rejected a worldwide damages theory and focused the Lanham Act inquiry on domestic use in commerce.
Trademarks / Supreme Court
Jack Daniel's wins Supreme Court reset on parody product trademark test
The Court held that VIP could not automatically invoke Rogers when it used Jack Daniel's marks as source identifiers on a dog toy.
Patents / Biotech
Supreme Court affirms enablement limits for Amgen antibody genus claims
The Court held that Amgen had not enabled the full scope of functional antibody claims covering PCSK9 binding.
Copyright / Fair Use
Warhol-Goldsmith narrows commercial fair-use path for transformative-art arguments
The Supreme Court held that the licensing use of a Warhol Prince image weighed against fair use in the dispute with photographer Lynn Goldsmith.
Patents / AI
Federal Circuit says AI system cannot be named inventor under Patent Act
Thaler v. Vidal held that inventors must be natural persons, keeping DABUS out of U.S. patent inventorship.
Patents / Section 101
Supreme Court leaves American Axle eligibility uncertainty in place
The Court declined to review a Federal Circuit Section 101 decision involving automotive driveshaft manufacturing claims.
Copyright / Supreme Court
Unicolors wins Supreme Court ruling on copyright-registration mistakes
The Court held that lack of legal or factual knowledge can excuse inaccurate registration information under Section 411(b).
Patents / Supreme Court
Minerva narrows assignor estoppel without abolishing it
The Supreme Court kept assignor estoppel alive but limited it to invalidity arguments inconsistent with the assignor's representations.
Policy / PTAB Policy
Arthrex forces Director review into PTAB's constitutional design
The Supreme Court held that APJ authority required a path for review by the presidentially appointed PTO Director.
Copyright / Software
Google beats Oracle at Supreme Court in software API fair-use case
The Court held that Google's reuse of Java API declaring code in Android was fair use.
Trademarks / Supreme Court
Booking.com wins Supreme Court ruling on generic.com trademark registration
The Court held that a generic.com term is not automatically generic if consumers perceive it as a source identifier.
Trademarks / Supreme Court
Lucky Brand wins Supreme Court ruling limiting defense preclusion in trademark fight
The Court held that Marcel could not block Lucky Brand's release defense when the later suit involved different claims.
Copyright / Supreme Court
Georgia code annotations fall outside copyright under government-edicts doctrine
The Supreme Court held that official annotations prepared under legislative authority could not be copyrighted.
Trademarks / Supreme Court
Romag lowers bar for trademark profits awards after Fossil fastener dispute
The Supreme Court held that willfulness is not an absolute prerequisite to disgorgement of profits under the Lanham Act.
Patents / IPR
Thryv blocks appellate review of PTAB time-bar institution decisions
The Supreme Court held that Section 314(d) bars appeal of the PTAB's decision to institute IPR despite a Section 315(b) time-bar argument.