IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law

SCOTUS Denies Cert to Pharma Industry Challenges to IRA’s Negotiation Program, USAA’s Section 101 Patent Appeal

Steve Brachmann — Mon, 18 May 2026 18:15:22 +0000

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order list showing that the nation’s highest court had denied a series of petitions for writ of certiorari filed by major pharmaceutical developers to challenge the Medicare negotiation program established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The Supreme Court also denied cert to an appeal of Section 101 patent-eligibility issues from a Federal Circuit ruling involving mobile banking technology, as well as a pro se cert appealing copyright and intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) against Disney.

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Squires’ Latest Precedential Decision Slams Use of IPR for ‘Litigation Leverage’

Eileen McDermott — Mon, 18 May 2026 13:55:42 +0000

On Thursday, May 14, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires issued a Director Discretionary Decision in which he denied institution of an inter partes review (IPR) petition and marked the opinion precedential, underscoring six key principles that should guide whether the Office institutes America invents Act (AIA) proceedings.

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CAFC Reverses Attorney’s Fees, Sanctions, While Affirming Obviousness in E-Banking Patent Case

Steve Brachmann — Sun, 17 May 2026 16:22:11 +0000

On May 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential ruling in mCom IP, LLC v. City National Bank of Florida affirming the Southern District of Florida’s dismissal of patent owner mCom IP's complaint after finding the asserted patent claims obvious on the same grounds as related patent claims invalidated at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). However, the Federal Circuit found that the district court improperly concluded that the case was exceptional, leading the appellate court to reverse the attorney’s fee award and attorney sanctions after finding the plaintiff did not develop evidence of frivolous litigation conduct.

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Patent Law Firms Face the AI Squeeze as Clients Internalize More Work

Gene Quinn — Fri, 15 May 2026 20:15:25 +0000

As in-house patent teams rethink how work is allocated, the implications for outside counsel are unavoidable. Corporate clients are asking whether work being done by outside counsel is being performed as efficiently as possible and even starting to ask whether it needs to be performed by outside counsel at all. At least some in-house teams are wondering whether the same or better result can be achieved internally using AI-enabled tools. If the answer is yes, then clients can be expected to decrease reliance on outside counsel, looking to law firm attorneys for targeted support, not end-to-end project management.

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Other Barks & Bites for Friday, May 15: PTAB Decisions on Inconsistent Claim Arguments Marked Informative; Bill Moving Copyright Office to Executive Branch Moves to House Floor; CJEU Upholds Right of Fair Compensation for Publishers

Steve Brachmann — Fri, 15 May 2026 17:40:34 +0000

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act moves one step closer toward enactment; the Federal Circuit reverses attorney’s fees award and attorney sanctions in a patent case over e-banking technology; the Court of Justice for the European Union finds that a publisher’s right to fair compensation established by EU member states is permissible if qualifying as consideration for the right to republish; Nokia earns a stay of UK court rulings in its RAND licensing battle over video codec patents with Acer and Asus; the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office places informative designations on a trio of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions applying agency precedent on inconsistent claim construction positions; Cisco announces 4,000 layoffs on the same day that it reported a 12% year-over-year jump in quarterly revenues; top Congressional Democrats publicly opposed President Trump’s ouster of the National Science Board membership; and the European General Court tells the European Union Intellectual Property Office that it did not sufficiently analyze links between an ammunition trademark and a famous French comic serial.

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Beware the Siren’s Call of Industrial Policy

Joseph Allen — Thu, 14 May 2026 20:15:23 +0000

To say we live in perplexing times is an understatement. Everything seems to be shifting beneath our feet, often with seemingly little thought. One example is the move to change how the federal government supports research. It wasn’t until the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, which injected the incentives of patent ownership into the system, that the situation changed. And the result was dramatic.

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Evaluating the Business Case for AI in Patent Practice

Gene Quinn — Thu, 14 May 2026 16:15:10 +0000

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond the experimental phase in legal practice. The legal industry is no longer debating whether lawyers can or should use AI tools, or whether AI will affect the economics of law firm and in-house legal department operations. Those questions have been answered. AI is already reshaping how legal work is performed, how legal departments manage demand, how law firms are expected to price services, how patent teams analyze portfolios, and how clients evaluate outside counsel.

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The Real Cost of Weakening Drug Patents

Kristina M. L. Acri née Lybecker — Thu, 14 May 2026 12:15:12 +0000

When the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new, easier-to-administer version of a popular cancer medicine called Keytruda a few months ago, patients celebrated. But critics quickly cried foul, accusing the drug's manufacturer of gaming the patent system to preserve its monopoly and prevent cheaper competitors from coming to market.

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Gerasimow Law is Seeking an Associate Attorney

JobOrtunities Help Wanted — Thu, 14 May 2026 09:15:27 +0000

Gerasimow Law is seeking an Associate Attorney to provide core support to a Partner and Senior Associate across a diverse intellectual property docket. This role offers direct involvement in the technical and legal life cycle of a case, from initial filing through post-grant challenges. This position is fully remote with no in-office requirement. Candidates located in Illinois or Texas are a plus.

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CAFC Says Generic Hypertension Drug Does Not Infringe Actelion’s Patents

Eileen McDermott — Wed, 13 May 2026 20:15:51 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision today affirming a district court ruling that Mylan Pharmaceuticals’ generic hypertension drug did not literally infringe Actelion Pharmaceuticals’ U.S. patents for its own hypertension drug, Veletri®. The CAFC also affirmed the district court’s holding that Actelion had not proven and was barred from asserting infringement by an equivalent.

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USPTO Targets Removal of 10,500 Trademarks for Fraudulent Submissions, Scam Billing Practices

Steve Brachmann — Wed, 13 May 2026 14:15:42 +0000

Yesterday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a trademark alert highlighting actions that the agency has taken recently to remove fraudulent and otherwise invalid marks from the federal trademark register. In 11 administrative orders issued by the USPTO since the beginning of last October, the agency has either invalidated or is targeting for invalidation around 10,500 trademark applications and registrations for reasons including forged attorney signatures and inventing non-existent trademark registration requirements and fees.

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Senators Defend Copyright Office Independence as AI and Executive Overreach Dominate Oversight Hearing

Rose Esfandiari — Wed, 13 May 2026 12:15:46 +0000

During a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing on the Oversight of the U.S. Copyright Office on Tuesday, the intersection of copyright law, artificial intelligence, and executive branch interference were the key focuses. Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter provided critical updates on the Copyright Office’s modernization efforts. However, the hearing was punctuated by sharp rebukes from Democratic senators regarding former President Donald Trump’s recent attempts to assert executive control over the legislative branch agency.

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Wolf Greenfield is Seeking a Patent Agent (Engineering) – Korean Language Fluency Required

JobOrtunities Help Wanted — Wed, 13 May 2026 09:15:23 +0000

Wolf Greenfield is seeking an experienced Patent Agent who is fluent in both English and Korean (written and spoken) to join its Prosecution & Counseling department. This role is ideal for a current Patent Agent with a strong technical background who is interested in applying their expertise to intellectual property strategy, patent preparation, and prosecution for clients that span from major consumer products companies and academic institutions to start-up companies. This position can be based in the firm's Boston, MA, New York, NY, or Washington, DC office, or fully remote.

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Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Pro Se Inventors’ Suit Challenging USPTO Micro-Entity Denial

Rose Esfandiari — Tue, 12 May 2026 20:08:37 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision today affirming the dismissal of a pro se lawsuit brought by three inventors who contested the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) refusal to grant them reduced filing fees. The CAFC found that the inventors failed to adequately plead Article III standing, as their own representations to the USPTO undermined any claim of ownership in the disputed application.

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CAFC Reiterates ‘Exceptional Case’ Awards Don’t Apply to IPRs

Eileen McDermott — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:15:22 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Monday affirmed a district court decision awarding attorney fees and costs to Nextremity Solutions, Inc. for an infringement suit brought against it by Extremity Medical, LLC, but denying attorney fees and costs for the successful parallel inter partes review proceeding (IPR) Nextremity pursued. The opinion was authored by Judge Lourie.

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