Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. v. Monsanto Technology LLC, No. 2011–1285 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 28, 2012) (Judges Prost, Clevenger, and Reyna) This case involves an interference, on appeal from the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. The issues aren’t complicated, but I thought it might be easier to explain the case visually. With that introduction, please […]
Category: Federal Circuit Spotlight
Shapes and Numbers
Remember learning about shapes and counting on Sesame Street? Those basic skills still come in handy, even in complex patent cases. Express Yourself … Genetically Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH v. Genentech, Inc., No. 2011-1397 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 22, 2012) (Judges Newman, Lourie, and Prost) (nonprecedential) This case involves 2 patents—5,849,522 (the ’522 patent) and 6,218,140 (the […]
An Ill Wind Blows Towards the ITC
General Electric Company v. International Trade Commission, No. 2010–1223 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 29, 2012) (Chief Judge Rader and Judges Newman and Linn) Disclosure: Although I had no part in the appeal to the Federal Circuit, I was part of the team representing Mitsubishi Heavy Industries before the International Trade Commission. The ITC is supposed to […]
Fame—My Trademark’s Gonna Live Forever!
This Federal Circuit trademark case is one of the more interesting ones I’ve seen recently. It’s chock full of thought-provoking legal issues. And it gave me a reason to carefully study high-end handbags online. This is a win-win situation, in my book. Coach Services, Inc. v. Triumph Learning, Inc., No. 2011-1129 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 21, […]
Thanks for Playing
We’ve all seen those sad moments on game shows when an eager contestant walks away empty-handed. While we can’t all be as successful in court as Barney Stinson was on “The Price Is Right,” it helps if you know how the game is played. The plaintiffs in these cases tripped up on the rules, so […]
Balancing Act
Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC v. Federal Corp., No. 2010-1376 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 16, 2011) (Judges Newman, Plager, and Bryson) In this trademark drag race involving two tire companies, the Federal Circuit told the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) that its decision was off-track. For its tires, Bridgestone has been using the marks POTENZA […]