Boston Scientific Stent Patent Obvious in Light of KSR

The new obviousness standard set forth in KSR v. Teleflex, 550 U.S. 398 (U.S. 2007), has put to rest yet another patent into the invalidity graveyard. After a district court found a Boston Scientific stent patent valid and infringed, the Federal Circuit applied the KSR standard and reversed the district court ruling, finding the patent [...]

JPO to Study Patentability of Software and Business Patents

Japanese newspapers are reporting that the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) will begin a study in January of 2009 in an attempt to dramatically change the current patent laws there.  Some of the possible areas of change include: Changing the definition of “invention” to include business methods and software Revising employee’s patent rights when working for [...]

The Influence of Past Licenses on Permanent Injunctions

Once a competitor has been found to infringe by a court, the next step in enforcing your patent right is to prevent that same party from infringing again.  In addition to being awarded monetary damages, the patentee can ask the court to prevent future damages by issuing a permanent injunction barring the infringing product from [...]

EPO Rejects Patent for Manipulating Embryonic Stem Cells

The European Patent Office (EPO) has refused to grant a patent claim covering the manipulation of embryonic stem cells. Claim 1, the claim under examination, reads: A cell culture comprising primate embryonic stem cells which (i) are capable of proliferation in vitro culture for over one year, (ii) maintain a karyotype in which all chromosomes [...]

The Federal Circuit Limits the ITC’s Exclusion Order Authority

The International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent federal agency whose purpose is to protect American companies from foreign companies that attempt to import goods in an anti-competitive manner. For example, an American company can file a complaint with the ITC if a foreign company is importing goods they fear violate their patents. Pursuant to [...]

ACTA Negotiations are still ongoing

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a proposed treaty that would significantly increase anti-piracy enforcement powers. The sweeping changes contained in the treaty are currently being discussed in a series of secret meetings between the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United [...]