Nephros, Inc. acquired GenArraytion, Inc., a manufacturer of infectious disease monitoring and measurement products. The acquisition is Nephros’s first medical products sector transaction.

Andra Group, LP (“Andra”) sued Victoria’s Secret Stores, L.L.C., Victoria’s Secret Stores Brand Management, Inc., Victoria’s Secret Direct Brand Management, LLC, and L Brands, Inc. (collectively, “Victoria’s Secret”) for patent infringement in the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Mondis Technology Ltd., Hitachi Maxell Ltd., and Maxell, Ltd. (collectively, “Mondis”) sued LG Electronics Inc. and LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (collectively, “LG”) for infringement of a patent covering a video display configured to receive video signals from an external source.

A party should be given notice and an opportunity to respond before the PTAB sua sponte departs from an uncontested claim construction in a manner that omits an agreed-upon feature of the claim when the absence of that feature in prior art was a central dispute in the proceeding.

Daikin requested inter partes review of two of Chemours’ patents directed to insulating communication cables by pulling wires through melted polymers flowing at a flow rate.

BOT M8 LLC v. SONY CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Before Dyk, Linn, and O’Malley. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Summary: The district court’s conclusion that allegations of infringement were not plausible because they tracked the claim language too closely presented an overly burdensome pleading standard.

The European Commission (“EC”) has long sought to improve data privacy for Europeans, even when they interact with global or non-European companies. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (or “GDPR”) seek to control how even U.S. companies, for example, use data from European citizens. To comply with the GDPR, U.S. companies doing business in Europe are required to use standard contract clauses, or “SCCs” in their agreements governing use of EU citizens’ data.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) allows a patent applicant to pay reduced fees if it qualifies as a “small entity.” Many types of filing fees are reduced by 50%. These savings can be important for companies on a tight budget, and can add up where applicants have multiple filings. For example, the savings on filing fees per non-provisional patent application are currently more than 900 USD, and the current savings on the 11.5 year maintenance fee for an issued patent are a whopping 3,850 USD!

MINERVA SURGICAL, INC. V. HOLOGIC, INC., ET AL.

Supreme Court of the United States. Opinion of the Court written by Justice Kagan. Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion. Justice Barrett filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch.

Summary: Assignor estoppel applies when and only when the assignor’s invalidity assertions contradict explicit or implicit representations made when assigning the patent.

IN RE: SAMSUNG ELECS., CO., LTD.

Before Lourie, Dyk, and Reyna. On Petitions for Writs of Mandamus to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Summary: Manipulation of venue through pre-litigation actions can lead to transfer of venue.