Patent Law

ABA urges Supreme Court to apply ruling limiting laches defense to patent cases

The ABA has filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to apply to patent cases a 2014 copyright ruling limiting the laches defense. The brief filed on July 22 says the doctrine of laches—which allows the dismissal of suits that are unreasonably delayed—generally should not bar patent claims…

Jul 26, 2016 10:00 AM CDT

Supreme Court upholds patent review procedure used by Apple and Google to invalidate patents

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld regulations that enable quicker and cheaper challenges to patents outside of federal court. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) calls the decision (PDF) “a blow for companies that favor strong patent protections” and “a boost for technology companies” like Apple and Google, which…

Jun 20, 2016 1:08 PM CDT

Supreme Court rules test for enhanced patent-infringement damages is too strict

A test used to determine whether enhanced damages may be awarded for patent infringement is so strict that it impermissibly insulates some of the worst infringers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The court on Monday overturned the standard used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit…

Jun 13, 2016 10:09 AM CDT

Judge cites misconduct of in-house lawyer in tossing $200M patent verdict

A federal judge in San Jose, California, is citing the rarely successful legal doctrine of unclean hands in tossing a $200 million infringement verdict obtained by Merck & Co. against Gilead Sciences in a patent dispute over a hepatitis C drug. U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman attributed much of…

Jun 7, 2016 10:26 AM CDT

SCOTUS to mull Federal Circuit refusal to apply top court’s copyright laches ruling in patent case

Does the same laches standard recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2014 copyright infringement case also apply in a patent infringement case? In an en banc decision last year, a divided 6-5 panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit crafted its own hybrid…

May 2, 2016 2:00 PM CDT

Does Dentons’ verein structure shield it from conflict claim? Malpractice suit says the answer is no

Are law firms that operate under a Swiss verein structure considered one law firm when determining conflicts of interest? The world’s largest law firm by head count, Dentons, avoided an answer to that question when a case settled before the U.S. International Trade Commission, the ABA BNA Lawyers’ Manual on…

Apr 27, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Supreme Court will consider damages issue in Apple and Samsung smartphone patent fight

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider a damages question in a smartphone patent battle between Samsung and Apple. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed (PDF) on Monday to consider Samsung’s bid to overturn a $399 million verdict for design infringement, SCOTUSblog reports. Samsung was ordered to pay the money…

Mar 22, 2016 5:45 AM CDT

Many lawyer departures prior to Dickstein’s demise were planned, former chairman says

Contrary to what one might believe from reading media reports, a steady stream of departures from Dickstein Shapiro in recent months was not lawyers leaving a sinking ship but part of a planned strategy, the former chairman of the now-defunct firm says. “Since July, with very few exceptions, all of…

Feb 22, 2016 4:45 PM CST

Can patent laws halt the reselling of used ink cartridges? Federal Circuit to consider

In the 17th century, British nobleman Sir Edward Coke set down some of the principles that still guide U.S. common law. Among them was his belief that sellers should not be able to direct how buyers use their goods. Any post-sale condition ought to be void, he believed, because buyers…

Feb 1, 2016 2:50 AM CST

Tug-of-war over interpretations of patent law continues between Federal Circuit and SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court has tried for 10 years to rein in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and its strongly pro-patent interpretations of the law, yet the tug-of-war does not appear to be letting up. Two recent decisions suggest the lower court is adamantly sticking to…

Jan 1, 2016 3:00 AM CST

Patent holders rush to beat new pleading standards; record number of suits filed Monday

Patent holders apparently eager to file suit in advance of new pleading standards filed more than 200 lawsuits on Monday, setting what is believed to be a one-day record for patent suits. The final weeks of November were also popular for patent suits, report the Recorder (sub. req.) and Ars…

Dec 2, 2015 12:16 PM CST

Patent holders allege financial companies are misusing new post-grant review process for profit

Ferrum Ferro Capital, a privately held venture fund, lists its address at a mailbox rental store in Wilmington, Delaware. The company's mostly empty website describes itself as "focused on innovation, application and monetization."

Four months after the company was formed in 2014, Ferrum Ferro filed for FDA approval of a glaucoma drug. In a letter to pharmaceutical company Allergan, Ferrum Ferro attorney Amir Naini of the Los Angeles firm Russ August & Kabat said it was proposing to make a generic version of Allergan's glaucoma drug, Combigan.

Dec 1, 2015 3:20 AM CST

Supreme Court to consider standard for enhanced damages in patent cases

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the standard for awarding enhanced patent-infringement damages is too rigid. The court granted cert Monday in two consolidated cases raising the issue, SCOTUSblog and Reuters report. The Recorder previewed the cases in a Sept. 25 article (sub. req.). The new cases…

Oct 19, 2015 9:53 AM CDT

Apple infringed University of Wisconsin patent, jurors find; damages could be up to $862M

A federal jury has found that Apple infringed a University of Wisconsin patent for improved processor efficiency in chips used in newer iPhones and iPads. Jurors reached a verdict on Tuesday in the liability phase of the trial, report Reuters, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Law.com (sub. req.) and…

Oct 15, 2015 8:12 AM CDT

Lawyer blasted by federal appeals court for forwarding judge email did nothing wrong, state bar says

Corrected: Although blasted by a federal appeals court last year for circulating a congratulatory email from a federal judge, a BigLaw partner did nothing calling for attorney discipline, the California State Bar has determined. Partner Edward Reines of Weil Gotshal & Manges said in an August pro hac vice motion…

Oct 2, 2015 12:55 PM CDT