Everyone knows the old adage, “Don’t mix business with pleasure.” But a slightly less well-known counterpart phrase is, “Don’t mix your self-owned business with your law firm.” It can lead to some hairy conflict-of-interest issues, like the ones this writ of mandamus petition to the Federal Circuit raised. In re Dell, Inc., No. 2012-m129 (Fed. […]
Category: Federal Circuit Orders
Extended Reach Patent Jurisdiction
The opinion and order in this post take a look at whether the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction over legal malpractice claims in patent prosecution matters reaches too deep and too far. Just a couple of weeks ago, I discussed Judge O’Malley’s concurrence on this topic in the USPPS case, in which she concluded that the Federal […]
Not So Obvious, Patently Speaking
Mintz v. Dietz & Watson, Inc., No. 2010-1341 (Fed. Cir. May 30, 2012) (Chief Judge Rader, Circuit Judges Newman and Dyk) I’ve never paid much attention to the patterns on the outside of ham. But I’m not as discerning a ham-eater as Liz Lemon: For Liz (presumably) and the folks in the meat-encasing field, these […]
Squeezing the Juice Out of Patent False Marking Claims
It’s been a while since we’ve had a false marking case at the Federal Circuit. That’s probably due to the America Invents Act’s (AIA) amendments to the false marking provision, which took effect the day President Obama signed the bill. Under the new law, private individuals can only bring suit for false marking if they have suffered “competitive injury.”
Patent Judgment Day: The End Is Here
Has final judgment day arrived at the district court? In the first week of May, the Federal Circuit issued several orders addressing this question. The Federal Circuit concluded that 2 cases had reached the end of their lower court days, but 1 case still had some life left.
All My Ex Patent Troll Cases Live in Texas
George Strait unintentionally penned an anthem for the patent trolls who keep trying to settle down in the Eastern District of Texas. But, as we’ve told you before, the Federal Circuit continues to send them elsewhere—like Utah, Arizona, Massachusetts, and California—most of the time. In re EMC Corp., No. 2011-m100 (Fed. Cir. May 4, 2012) […]