Patent Law

Bill Would Ban Tax-Strategy Patents

A ban on patents for tax-planning strategies is included in legislation to reform the patent code. The ban is part of a patent reform package that passed the House earlier this month, but isn’t yet part of the Senate bill, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req). Tax lawyers argue…

Sep 24, 2007 7:02 PM CDT

New Procedure Resolves Patent Cases

Companies accused of infringing patents are increasingly turning to a process known as inter partes re-examination, a less costly method of resolving patent disputes that appears to favor defendants. Most alleged infringers win, according to statistics, but the process is not without risk, the Recorder reports. If an accused infringer…

Sep 12, 2007 12:19 PM CDT

Lawsuit! is a Game to NY Lawyer

Tina Eskreis Nelson’s job as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law is now history. That’s because the mother of three came up with a unique way in 2003 of explaining to her then 6-year-old son what his parents, both lawyers, are trained to do. She stopped…

Sep 7, 2007 10:29 PM CDT

Microsoft Trial Win a Legislative Loss?

A stunning $1.52 billion verdict against Microsoft Corp. in a patent case earlier this month was the impetus for planned changes in U.S. patent law. But now that the computer megalith has succeeded in getting the federal jury verdict overturned, its courtroom win is likely to mean a legislative loss.…

Sep 5, 2007 3:58 PM CDT

Patent Ruling Favors Defendants

An en banc opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit makes it more difficult to obtain triple damages for willful patent infringement. The court ruled yesterday (PDF) that to prove willful infringement, “a patentee must show by clear and convincing evidence that the infringer acted despite…

Aug 21, 2007 10:37 AM CDT

Qualcomm GC Resigns

On the heels of several legal setbacks, Qualcomm has announced the resignation of its general counsel, Lou Lupin. He will be replaced on an acting basis by former U.S. attorney Carol Lam, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. She joined Qualcomm in February. The company said in a press…

Aug 13, 2007 7:25 PM CDT

Lawyer Defends Qualcomm Representation

U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster didn’t name the lawyers who represented Qualcomm when he issued an opinion chastising the company for failing to turn over evidence in its patent infringement suit against rival microchip maker Broadcom. But the Recorder says the lawyers representing Qualcomm included Stanley Young of Heller Ehrman…

Aug 8, 2007 10:29 AM CDT

Qualcomm ‘Litigation Abuse’ Cited

A judge has ruled that Qualcomm Inc. waived its rights to enforce two patents for video compression and engaged in “aggravated litigation abuse.” The judge said Qualcomm had deliberately concealed patents from a standard-setting body and failed to turn over thousands of discovery documents in its patent infringement suit against…

Aug 7, 2007 7:16 PM CDT

Record Patent Award Overturned

A federal judge has overturned a $1.5 billion judgment against Microsoft that is one of the largest amounts ever awarded in a patent infringement suit. Alcatel-Lucent had obtained the award in a suit claiming that Microsoft had infringed two patents for the MP3 format for copying digital music files, the…

Aug 7, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Drug-Price Law Overturned

An appeals court has struck down a Washington, D.C., law barring drug companies from charging excessive prices for prescription drugs. The D.C. law didn’t define excessive pricing. But it said a prima facie case could be established if the whosesale price of a patented drug was more than 30 percent…

Aug 3, 2007 2:28 PM CDT

Patent Rulings Favoring Defendants

Courts are citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court case to justify rulings in favor of companies defending patent infringement claims. The Supreme Court’s ruling in KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. three months ago made it easier to invalidate patents for obvious inventions. The court said an invention is not…

Aug 1, 2007 6:17 PM CDT

IP, Going Once ... Twice

It was standing room only for business-suit types at Ocean Tomo’s Spring 2007 Live Intellectual Property Auction.

Aug 1, 2007 11:50 AM CDT

Patent Profits Elusive

Patents may pave a path to litigation rather than profits, especially in the information technology industry, according to a study by two researchers. They found that patent litigation in the United States cost $16 billion in 1999, while companies reaped only $9.3 billion in patent profits, the New York Times…

Jul 16, 2007 5:40 PM CDT

Big Firms Rise in IP Survey

Big law firms are giving patent-litigation boutiques a run for their money. IP Law & Business began surveying law firms in 2000 to determine their amount of patent work, according to a story on the latest findings. At the time, IP specialty firms “ruled the top of the charts.” Since…

Jul 13, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

Video Rivals Settle Patent Dispute

Netflix has settled a suit that alleged Blockbuster stole its business method to charge subscribers a monthly fee to rent videos online. Blockbuster revealed the settlement in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Details of the agreement were not disclosed. A…

Jun 28, 2007 8:39 PM CDT