IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law

Federal Circuit Affirms 101 Dismissal for Google in Distracted Driving Patent Suit

Rose Esfandiari — Tue, 05 May 2026 20:05:43 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision today in TJTM Technologies, LLC v. Google LLC, affirming the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s dismissal of a patent infringement lawsuit and holding that the asserted patent claims are directed to patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The nonprecedential decision was authored by Judge Chen and joined by Judges Dyk and Stark.

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As Congress Considers PERA, It Should Allow the Frustrated Inventor to Be Heard

Jeffrey Killian — Tue, 05 May 2026 19:15:01 +0000

A person recently approached me at church with excitement regarding a software process he developed. His company was so pleased with the result that it is filing a patent, listing him as the inventor. This person knew that I had some kind of patent backstory, so he asked for my thoughts. My name is Jeffrey A. Killian, and I am the patent applicant in the Federal Circuit Court case # 2021 -2113 (In Re: Killian). I took no pleasure in telling my friend at church that his patent application will be rejected. Plus, the official notice will have my precedential case quoted all over his rejection. With friends at church like me, who needs enemies?

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Trademark Claims Against Netflix Dismissed Due to One-Letter Typo in Court Order

Sara Gold — Tue, 05 May 2026 14:08:29 +0000

Trademark claims against Netflix concerning its popular “Running Point” comedy series were recently dismissed at the pleadings stage due to a one-letter misarticulation of applicable First Amendment law. The case, soon to be litigated on appeal, highlights the need to clarify the contours of trademark liability arising from creative works. Pepperdine University filed the lawsuit last year against Netflix and co-defendants Warner Bros. and Kaling International, just one week before the “Running Point” series premiere. Loosely based on the life of Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, the series stars Kate Hudson as the owner of the fictional basketball team the Los Angeles Waves. The popular series, which amassed instant popularity and ranked as Netflix’s #1 TV show, was quickly ordered for a second season that premiered April 23, 2026.

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Patents, Drug Prices, Clinical Trials and the Economics of Medicine | IPWatchdog Unleashed

Gene Quinn — Mon, 04 May 2026 21:10:57 +0000

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, I spoke with Brent Bellows, a partner with Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies (KIPS). We discussed a variety of issues including Hatch-Waxman, Orange Book listings, paragraph IV certifications, skinny labels, generic entry, clinical trial costs, regulatory exclusivity, and the enormous financial risk associated with bringing new drugs to market. Gene and Brent explore the tension between public demand for lower drug prices and the need for durable incentives that make high-risk drug development economically viable, particularly for oncology, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and other difficult-to-treat conditions. The episode closes with a broader innovation-policy message: patents are not a peripheral feature of drug development—they are a core operating asset that enables private-sector investment, supports breakthrough therapies, and ultimately drives the availability of future generic medicines.

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CAFC Says ‘Words of Approximation’ in Patent Claims Must Be Sufficiently Explained to Avoid Indefiniteness

Eileen McDermott — Mon, 04 May 2026 16:59:13 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Monday in a precedential decision authored by Judge Lourie affirmed a district court’s ruling determining certain claims of Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Inc.’s patent for a method of poultry treatment indefinite. Enviro Tech’s U.S. Patent No.10,912,321is titled “Methods of Using Peracetic Acid to Treat Poultry in a Chill Tank During Processing.” Enviro Tech sued Safe Foods Corp. for infringement of a number of claims of the patent in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

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EU Returns to Special 301 Report’s Watch List for First Time Since 2006

Steve Brachmann — Mon, 04 May 2026 13:29:44 +0000

On April 30, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released this year’s Special 301 Report, which surveys the effectiveness of intellectual property (IP) rights and enforcement abroad and identifies foreign nations where IP protections are uncertain or disregarded. The 2026 report marks the first time in 13 years that a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) has been named, with Vietnam being identified as a PFC for persistent failures to address several long-standing IP concerns. The USTR has also added the European Union (EU) to the Special 301 Report’s Watch List, the first time since 2006 that the continental government has been identified for IP-related concerns in addition to individual European nations.

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What the USPTO’s Reexamination Remand for HID Means for Estoppel, Timing and Strategy

Brian Landry — Sun, 03 May 2026 16:15:56 +0000

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a significant Decision on Remand on Monday, April 27, 2026, clarifying when estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(1) attaches and—critically—what it means to “request” a proceeding “before the Office.” The ruling arises from an increasingly common set of circumstances—HID had initially filed an inter partes review (IPR) against CPC Patent Technologies’ U.S. Patent No. 9,665,705, and subsequently requested ex parte reexamination requests of that same patent. Monday’s decision clarifies that a party is estopped from “requesting” ex parte reexam at the moment the IPR final written decision issues when the USPTO has yet to order ex parte reexam.

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Other Barks & Bites for Friday, May 1: EU Lands on USTR’s Special 301 Watch List; Battery Recycling Patent Families Increase Seven-Fold in Past Decade; and Google Cert Petition Challenges Settled Expectations Doctrine

Steve Brachmann — Fri, 01 May 2026 16:59:07 +0000

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the U.S. Trade Representative issues its annual Special 301 Report listing the European Union as a Watch List nation for IP-related issues; Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) publicly oppose the Trump Administration’s decisions to cut federal funding for science and upend the National Science Board; and more.

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UNC Charlotte Highlights the Power of Invention at 2026 Invention of the Year Awards

IPWatchdog — Fri, 01 May 2026 12:15:23 +0000

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte brought together leaders from government, academia, industry, and the defense community for its 2026 Invention of the Year Awards, an evening that showcased the university’s growing role as a national engine of innovation, commercialization, and technological impact.

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The Latest Attempt to Expose SAWS Highlights Structural Flaws at the USPTO

Gene Quinn — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:15:45 +0000

Whether or not the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) wants to admit it, over most of the last generation there has been a secret examination docket. Not surprisingly, such a secret examination docket is strictly prohibited by federal law. A newly filed joint status report in Morinville v. USPTO brings this issue to the fore and underscores the lack of transparency and accountability of secret internal patent review programs at the USPTO. Procedurally, the latest filing seeks to expose the USPTO shadow docket through a new round of discovery, which is currently being considered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

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Hot Takes: What the Oral Arguments in Hikma/ Amarin Revealed

Eileen McDermott — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:15:07 +0000

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., a case with broad implications for the generic industry’s practice of “skinny labeling” and the induced infringement standard for patent law and beyond. IPWatchdog reached out to members of the IP community for their initial takeaways from yesterday’s arguments.

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Federal Circuit Vacates PTAB Obviousness Determination and Holds Real Party in Interest Challenge Unreviewable

Rose Esfandiari — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:15:42 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision Wednesday in Federal Express Corporation v. Qualcomm Incorporated, vacating a determination by the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) that certain claims of a Federal Express Corporation patent were unpatentable as obvious. The CAFC also held that it could not review the PTAB’s refusal to determine whether all real parties in interest were identified in the petition for inter partes review (IPR).

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Thompson Patent Law is Seeking an Associate Patent Attorney

JobOrtunities Help Wanted — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:15:06 +0000

A full-time, fully remote role is available at Thompson Patent Law (TPL) for an experienced Associate Patent Attorney. TPL understands that many attorneys are looking for more - a greater challenge, consistent workflow, a meaningful culture, and real opportunities to grow - and offers a steady flow of high-quality patent work, a full-time remote role supported by strong systems, a respectful, values-driven culture, and direct mentorship from Craige Thompson, JD, MBA, EE, PE, Managing Principal Patent Attorney and #1 Amazon best-selling author of Patent Offense.

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Justices Voice Concern that Upholding CAFC’s Hikma ‘Skinny Label’ Ruling Will Harm Generics Industry

Eileen McDermott — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:40:10 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in Hikma v. Amarin, a closely-watched case that in part asks the Justices to weigh in on whether a drugmaker calling its product a “generic version” while citing public sales information about the branded drug induces infringement of a patented use fully carved out by the generic’s label. Hikma’s petition also asks whether a complaint states an induced infringement claim if it fails to allege any instruction or statement by the defendant mentioning the patented use. While some Justices today questioned why the case was even before them, others seemed concerned about the potential impact of the case for the generic pharmaceutical industry.

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As Judge Albright Prepares to Leave the Bench, A Look Back on His Patent-Friendly Tenure

Steve Brachmann — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 15:15:10 +0000

Last week, Bloomberg Law broke the news that U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright of the Western District of Texas would leave the Western Texas bench by the end of this August. Nominated to the federal judiciary during the first Trump Administration, Judge Albright spent his relatively short time on the bench cutting a courageous pathway through patent law, which created some controversy in Congress, but notably has earned him a reputation of thoughtfulness and fairness in the application of patent law among plaintiff- and defendant-side lawyers arguing in his courtroom.

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