AliveCor, Inc., a company focused on cardiac data and remote medicine, successfully convinced an International Trade Commission (ITC) judge that Apple, Inc. infringed multiple AliveCor patents related to electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. AliveCor asserted that the Apple Watch (Series 6 and 7) infringes multiple AliveCor ECG patents and seeks to ban the watches from importation into the U.S.
A medical device patentee has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to save his design patent, related to an introducer sheath handle, from invalidity based on application of the “on-sale” bar, which prohibits patenting an invention if it has been for sale for over one year prior to the patent filing.
CAREDX, INC. V. NATERA, INC.
Before Lourie, Bryson, and Hughes
Summary: Expert testimony that steps of challenged patent claims were unconventional failed to preclude summary judgment of ineligibility where specification admitted the steps were conventional.
LG ELECTRONICS INC. v. IMMERVISION INC.
Before Stoll, Cunningham, and Newman, Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: Where a reference contains an “obvious” error in a disclosure, even if not immediately apparent on the face of the disclosure, the erroneous information may not support a finding of obviousness.
On July 1, 2022, Acutus Medical (”Acutus”), an arrhythmia-based medical device company, reported that it completed the first of its two closings in its left-heart access portfolio sale to Medtronic. Acutus, the maker of the AcQCross™ line of sheath-compatible septal crossing devices and systems, first announced this deal in late April 2022, and it includes an upfront $50 million cash payment to Acutus Medical upon the initial closing of the transaction.
On June 15, 2022, Boston Scientific entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in M.I.Tech Co., Ltd, a publicly traded Korean medical device company in the field of endoscopic and urological procedures. The agreement includes a purchase price of approximately $230 million. According to the announcement, M.I.Tech is the creator of the HANAROSTENT® technology, a family of conformable, non-vascular, self-expanding metal stents. Non-vascular stents can be used in gastrointestinal applications and in airways to clear obstructions or constrictions in areas such as the biliary tree, pancreatic duct, esophagus, colon, and duodenum.
MEENAXI ENTERPRISE, INC. v. THE COCA-COLA COMPANY
Before Dyk, Reyna, and Stoll. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: To maintain a statutory cause of action under the Lanham Act for activities solely conducted outside the United States, the claimant must provide concrete evidence of reputational injury or lost sales.
STATIC MEDIA LLC v. LEADER ACCESSORIES LLC
Before Dyk, Reyna, and Taranto. Appeal from the Western District of Wisconsin.
Summary: It was an abuse of discretion to hold a party in contempt for an alleged protective order violation resulting from a third person’s use of confidential information in a co-pending litigation when the third person (1) agreed to be bound by the order, (2) was reminded of its obligations under the order, and (3) the disclosure was made pursuant to a joint defense agreement.
CENTRIPETAL NETWORKS, INC. v. CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.
Before Dyk, Taranto, and Cunningham. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Summary: Placing stock in a blind trust does not divest a judge of that stock for purposes of the judicial ethics statutes.
On June 16, 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to a partial waiver of intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 vaccines. The agreement came on the heels of an all-night negotiating session. The agreement followed years of proposals and negotiations among the WTO members.
