Some Interesting Patent Issues Must Percolate The question of whether Section 102(g) of the patent laws supports infringement suits involving method of use patent claims is an unsettled issue. Sharp brought it to the Federal Circuit’s attention in an interlocutory appeal. See Anvik Corp. v. Sharp Corp., No. 2011-m965 (Fed. Cir. July 8, 2011). This […]
Category: Federal Circuit Orders
Fed Circuit Gets By, but Without a Little Help from Its Lower Court Friends
In re Chicco USA, Inc., No. 2011-m977 (Fed. Cir. July 12, 2011) (Chief Judge Rader, Judges Lourie and O’Malley) (nonprecedential order) Chicco petitioned for a writ of mandamus, and asked the Federal Circuit to instruct the lower court to vacate its order staying the lawsuit while the PTO was reexamining the patent. Before claim construction, […]
What “Means” Actually Means
Spectralytics, Inc. v. Cordis Corp., Nos. 2009-1564, 2010-1004 (Fed. Cir. June 13, 2011) (Judges Newman, Clevenger, and Bryson) Another week, another case involving stents. (Last week’s case was Boston Scientific Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson. You can read our summary of that opinion here.) This case is about Spectralytics’s patent for manufacturing coronary stents. According […]
Stent Wars, Episode II: Boston Scientific Strikes Back
Boston Scientific Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, Nos. 2010-1230, -1231, -1233, -1234 (Fed. Cir. June 7, 2011) (Judges Bryson, Gajarsa, and Moore) The stent wars continue. . . . First J&J and Cordis filed four suits against Abbott in New Jersey, alleging that Abbott infringed four stent patents. This time, Boston Scientific filed four preemptive […]
Inequitable Conduct Gets Newly Defined; Tessera Is Exhausted; but Allergan Is Still Standing
TheraSense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Co., Nos. 2008-1511, -1512, -1513, -1514, -1595 (Fed. Cir. May 25, 2011) (en banc) By Antigone Peyton TheraSense, which adjusts the legal standard for the equitable doctrine of inequitable conduct, is one of our ten “really important” opinions issued by the Federal Circuit in the last few years. The […]
An Infringement Accusation by Any Other Name Is Still an Infringement Accusation
Andersen Corp. v. Pella Corp., No. 2010-1481 (Fed. Cir. May 17, 2011) (non-precedential order) (Judge Gajarsa) This is an interesting little order. Andersen sued W.L. Gore and Pella for infringement of its patent related to a reduced visibility insect screen. The parties settled all issues except for an indemnification dispute between W.L. Gore and Pella. […]