Patent Docs

Chisum Patent Academy Patent Law Seminar

2013-05-17T22:10:57-05:00

The Chisum Patent Academy will be offering its next Advanced Patent Law Seminars from July 31 to August 2, 2013 and from August 5-7, 2013 in Seattle, WA. The three-day seminar will focus on the following patent law topics: • Patent Practice Gone Wrong: Lessons from Recent Cases on Patent Malpractice and Rule 11 Sanctions • CLS Bank v. Alice Corp.: Making Sense Out of Nonsense • Blockbuster Supreme Court and en banc Federal Circuit cases: Myriad (patent eligible subject matter--pending), Lighting Ballast Control (claim interpretation standard of review--pending) • Giving Meaning to Means Clauses • Drafting and Enforcing Method...

IPLAC Program on IP Ethics

2013-05-17T22:07:44-05:00

The Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago (IPLAC) will be offering a program on "Ethics in IP Practice" on May 21, 2013 from 12:00 to 5:00 pm (Central) at the offices of Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago, IL. Wendy Muchman, Chief of Litigation/Professional Education, ARDC; Michael Barrett, Director of Risk Control, CNA; and William Covey, Deputy General Counsel and Director for Office of Enrollment and Discipline, USPTO will discuss the new professional code of conduct and other ethical considerations. The registration fee for the program is $25 for IPLAC members and students and $30 for non-members. Those interested in...

WIPO Reports Increase in International Application Filings in 2012

2013-05-16T23:59:00-05:00

By Donald Zuhn -- In March, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that International patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) increased by 6.6% in 2012. WIPO noted that of the 194,000 PCT applications filed last year, Japan and U.S. accounted for nearly half (48.8%) of those applications. Five countries had double-digit growth in PCT filings in 2012: the Netherlands (+14.0%), China (+13.6%), Republic of Korea (+13.4%), Finland (+13.2%), and Japan (+12.3%). PCT filings in several countries dropped in 2012, including Turkey (-16.3%), Mexico (-15.6%), India (-9.2%), Canada (-6.7%), South Africa (-5.3%), the Russian Federation (-4%), Spain...

Court Report Supplement

2013-05-16T23:55:00-05:00

By Ann Palma -- About Court Report Supplement: Periodically, we will report on biotech and pharma cases that were inadvertently omitted from our Court Report column. Tawnsaura Group, LLC v. Direct Digital, LLC 8:13-cv-00004; filed January 2, 2013 in the Central District of California Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,874,471 ("Orthomolecular medical use of L-Citrulline for vasoprotection, relaxative smooth muscle tone and cell protection," issued February 23, 1999) and 6,028,107 (same title, February 22, 2000) based on Defendant's manufacture, use, offers for sale, and sales of nutritional supplements containing L-Citrulline and/or L-Citrulline Malate used to boost testosterone levels, including Defendant's...

CLS Bank Int'l v. Alice Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2013) (en banc) -- Judge Lourie's Concurrence

2013-05-15T23:59:00-05:00

By Michael Borella -- On May 10, the Federal Circuit handed down a much anticipated en banc ruling regarding the patent eligibility of computer-implemented inventions under 35 U.S.C. § 101. In a per curiam opinion that is perhaps the most important § 101 jurisprudence since the Supreme Court's Bilski v. Kappos and Mayo v. Prometheus decisions, a plurality of judges set forth procedures for determining whether claims that recite an abstract idea or a law of nature meet the requirements of this section. While the overall effect of this case remains to be seen and is likely to be a...

The Myriad Case and "Gene" Patents: Much Ado about Nothing?

2013-05-14T23:59:00-05:00

By Kevin E. Noonan -- The biggest concern of the biotechnology industry caused by the impending Supreme Court decision in the AMP v. Myriad Genetics case is the threat to existing patents having claims to isolated human DNA (and the DNA from other species) that a negative decision from the Court could raise. Patent protection has been an important component of the success of companies from Genentech to Myriad and many others, and the prospect of a categorical ban (ironic, in view of the Court's anathema for "bright line" rules promulgated by the Federal Circuit) threatens the success paradigm developed...

Bowman v. Monsanto Co. (2013)

2013-05-13T23:59:00-05:00

By Donald Zuhn -- Today, in Bowman v. Monsanto Co., the Supreme Court determined that the doctrine of patent exhaustion did not permit a farmer who buys patented seeds to reproduce them through planting and harvesting without the patent holder's permission, affirming the Federal Circuit's decision that such activities amount to the creation of a newly infringing article. Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Kagan begins a concise 10-page opinion by noting that "[u]nder the doctrine of patent exhaustion, the authorized sale of a patented article gives the purchaser, or any subsequent owner, a right to use or resell that...

Court Report

2013-05-12T23:02:06-05:00

By Sherri Oslick -- About Court Report: Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Genentech, Inc. et al. 3:13-cv-02045; filed May 3, 2013 in the Northern District of California • Plaintiff: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. • Defendants: Genentech, Inc.; City of Hope Declaratory judgment of invalidity, unenforceability, and noninfringement of of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,331,415 ("Methods of Immunoglobulins, Vectors, and Transformed Host Cells for Use Therein," issued December 18, 2001) and 7,923,221 ("Methods of Making Antibody Heavy and Light Chains Having Specificity for a Desired Antigen," issued April 12, 2011) in...

Conference & CLE Calendar

2013-05-12T22:56:12-05:00

May 13-14, 2013 - Generics and Patent Strategies (SMi) - London, UK May 14, 2013 - Forum on Pharma & Biotech Collaborations (C5 (UK)) - Frankfurt, Germany May 14-16, 2013 - Fundamentals of Patent Prosecution 2013: A Boot Camp for Claim Drafting & Amendment Writing (Practising Law Institute) - Chicago, IL May 15-16, 2013 - Forum on Freedom to Operate (C5 (UK)) - Frankfurt, Germany May 21-23, 2013 - Pharma Legal Affairs (IBC Life Sciences) - Shanghai, China May 27, 2013 - A Harmonized Patent World -- Are We Getting There? (Intellectual Property Owners Association) - Brussels, Belgium May 29,...

Webinar on New USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct

2013-05-12T22:52:07-05:00

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP will be offering a live webinar entitled "Harmonization of USPTO Ethical Standards in the Post-AIA Era" on May 30, 2013 from 10:00 am to 11:15 am (CT). MBHB attorney and Patent Docs contributor Dr. Andrew Williams will moderate a presentation by Director William R. Covey, Deputy General Counsel and Director for Office of Enrollment and Discipline at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, on the new USPTO Rules of Professional Conduct. Director Covey's presentation will address the new rules, and focus on present day ethical issues affecting attorneys and agents who practice before the...