Before Dyk, Taranto, Stoll. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: The PTAB is not required to make any finding regarding a motivation to combine two references when it concludes that a claim is invalid under § 103 in view of a single prior art reference.
On January 4th, the USPTO announced revised guidance for subject matter eligibility (Section 101 Revised Guidance) and stated it would take effect when published on Monday, January 7, 2019.
On Monday, January 7, 2019, a revised guidance for subject matter eligibility (USPTO Section 101 Revised Guidance) will take effect at the USPTO. With the newly revised guidance, the USPTO aims to clarify and standardize the patent eligibility analysis under the Alice/Mayo framework.
Before Chen, Mayer, and Bryson. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
Summary: Claims directed to the abstract idea of rules for playing a dice game are not transformed into patent eligible subject matter by the addition of printed matter.
On November 9, 2018, Cook Medical LLC filed a petition with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board requesting inter partes review (IPR) of U.S. Patent No. 6,306,141, assigned to Medtronic Vascular, Inc. The ‘141 Patent is entitled “Medical Devices Incorporating SIM Alloy Elements.” The ‘141 Patent states that it relates to “a medical device containing a shape memory alloy element.”
Before Prost, Dyk and Moore. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Summary: A party’s continued, but ultimately unsuccessful, pursuit of a claim construction may not warrant attorneys’ fees. In addition, district courts are not required to resolve every issue mooted by summary judgment to rule on a motion for attorneys’ fees.
Atrial fibrillation (AF), a common heart rhythm disorder, is often treated with cardiac ablation. Cardiac ablation uses RF (heating) or cryothermal (cooling) energy to scar the areas of the heart muscle that are responsible for the abnormal heart rhythm. Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, and Biosense Webster (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), each offer RF ablation catheters. According to one analyst, however, Medtronic is the first company to launch a cryoablation device and currently has reign over the cryoablation market. Recent developments suggest competition in cryoablation is now ramping up.
Before Newman, O’Malley, and Chen. Appeal from the PTAB.
Summary: Patent Owner Vertnetx Inc. (“Virnetx”) was collaterally estopped from arguing that a reference was not a printed publication because the Federal Circuit had already determined the reference was a printed publication in a Rule 36 judgement in a separate but related appeal.
Two high-end, off-price fashion brands are duking it out over an employee jumping ship from Century 21 Department Stores, LLC to Rue Gilt Groupe. On November 5, 2018, Century 21 sued Rue Gilt Groupe and Berenice Arcuri in New York state court. The suit is to enforce, amongst other things, Arcuri’s post-employment non-compete and confidentiality obligations to Century 21. Though the suit was filed in New York, there is no allegation what state law governs the non-compete. Resolution of this issue will have a significant impact on the case.
Before Newman, Wallach, and Stoll. Appeal from the District Court of the Northern District of Texas.
Summary: There is no generalized rule that sending letters alleging patent infringement by themselves does not create personal jurisdiction.
