The Federal Circuit didn’t issue any patent or trademark-related opinions last week.
Category: Federal Circuit Spotlight
When It Comes to Experts, Don’t Play with Fire
Tokai Corp. v. Easton Enterprises, Inc., No. 10-1057 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 31, 2011) (Judges Newman, Lourie, and Bryson) Here’s a case on the lighter side, literally. The Tokai companies sued Easton for infringing patents relating to safety utility lighters, like the kind you’d use to light a barbecue grill. After claim construction, Easton stipulated that […]
Fed Circuit Talks Computer Processors and Alcohol Testing
Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. v. Actsoft, Inc., No. 2010-1250 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 24, 2011) (Judges Lourie, Clevenger, and Moore). The ways to measure how much you’ve been drinking might be a little blurry. In this case, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part, and remanded the district court’s summary judgment grant of noninfringement and its underlying claim […]
What’s “Use” Got to Do With It Anyway? A Lot, for Infringement Purposes
Arlington Industries, Inc. v. Bridgeport Fittings, Inc., No. 2010-1025 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 20, 2011) (Judges Rader, Lourie, and Moore). When the Federal Circuit is faced with the same electrical connector patent, the same patent claim term, two patent litigations, and two different constructions, what does it do? It fixes the construction that improperly imports a […]
According to the Fed Circuit, Mac and PC File Formats – Not So Different Anymore
St. Clair Intellectual Property Consultants, Inc. v. Canon Inc., Nos. 2009-1052, 2010-1137, −1140 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 10, 2011) An interesting precedential opinion on claim construction for four patents with a common specification that was originally filed in 1990. Plaintiff sued camera manufacturers for infringement on the basis that users could save in different file formats. The […]