APPLE INC. v. MPH TECHNOLOGIES OY
Before Moore, Prost, and Taranto. Appeal from Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: The proximity of concepts in a claim may link the concepts together and affect the plain meaning of the claim.
HOYT AUGUSTUS FLEMING V. CIRRUS DESIGN CORPORATION
Before Lourie, Hughes, and Stoll. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: A claim is obvious where “the proposed combination of [the references]—rather than one of the individual references—discloses the disputed claim limitations.” A motion to amend under the Administrative Procedure Act may be denied where proposed amended claims lack written description support.
On February 10, 2022, in Junker v. Medical Components, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s grant of summary judgment of no invalidity under the “on-sale bar” of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) (pre-AIA). Mr. Junker’s lawsuit alleged that Medical Components, Inc. and Martech Medical Products, Inc. (collectively, “MedComp”) infringed the claimed design of U.S. Design Patent No. D450,839 (the “D’839 patent”), entitled “Handle for Introducer Sheath.”
The University of Washington announced that a team of researchers has developed a prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR) blood clotting test that requires only a single drop of blood and a smartphone. According to the team’s February 11, 2022 paper published in Nature Communications, the test uses a tiny cup containing copper, and a blood clotting agent that is attached to the smartphone below the camera, as shown in the figure below from the paper.
ALARM.COM INC. v. HIRSHFELD
Before Taranto, Chen, and Cunningham. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Summary: The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) permits judicial review of a Patent Office decision vacating an ex parte reexamination based on estoppel.
IN RE STEVE ELSTER
Before Dyk, Taranto, and Chen. Appeal from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: The Patent and Trademark Office violated the First Amendment by refusing to register the trademark TRUMP TOO SMALL absent consent from former president Donald Trump.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published on February 23rd, 2022, a rule proposal to overhaul medical device quality control regulation. According to the FDA, the proposed rule change would “amend the device current good manufacturing practice requirements of the Quality System Regulation to align more closely with the international consensus standard for devices by converging with the quality management system requirements used by other jurisdictions.”
ADAPT PHARMA OPERATIONS LTD. V. TEVA PHARMS. USA, INC.
Before Newman, Prost, and Stoll. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Summary: Recent attempts by competitors to achieve patented technology, both before and after patent’s publication, not strong enough objective indicia of nonobviousness.
LARRY G. JUNKER V. MEDICAL COMPONENTS, INC.
Before Dyk, Reyna, and Stoll. Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Summary: A letter containing specific delivery conditions, risk allocations, and payment terms may constitute a commercial offer for sale despite being sent in response to a “request for quotation.”
In addition to its significant efforts to fast track the approval of COVID-19 related devices, the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) has also maintained its high priority focus on supporting innovation of new medical devices in the United States.
