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Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corp. et al.: Did the Federal Circuit Change Anything?
The Federal Circuit piqued the interest of the patent bar when it issued its decision granting Edward H. Phillips' petition for rehearing en banc. Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corp. et al., 376 F.3d 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (“Phillips I“). Patent practitioners expected that the court would finally provide the bar with a clear understanding of how claims should be interpreted and construed. The court's guidance would help not only patent prosecutors so that claims could be crafted with appropriate scope to provide maximum coverage for a client's invention, but also aid patent litigators so that efforts could be focused on specific disputed claim terms and their construction rather than scatter shot attacks on every possible claim term in the hope that one of the shots would hit home. Whether the Federal Circuit provided any guidance to the bar has yet to be determined. However, it is clear that despite the fervent hope of the patent bar, no new law was made with the Phillips en banc decision.
The en banc petition decision directed the parties to address the following seven separate issues relating to claim construction: 1) should dictionaries be used as sources to interpret a claim term; 2) should technical dictionaries be consulted before general usage dictionaries; 3) should the specification limit the scope of the claim language; 4) should the specification be used to interpret the claims of the patent rather than a dictionary; 5) should claims be interpreted to avoid invalidity; 6) what role should prosecution history or expert testimony play in determining the meaning of disputed claim terms; and 7) should the trial court be accorded deference in claim construction rulings. Phillips I, 376 F.3d at 1383. All of these questions, with the exception of the last, were touched upon in the en banc decision. A summary of the case follows.
Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers
There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Transfer Tax Implications on Real Property Leases
The real property transfer tax does not apply to all leases, and understanding the tax rules of the applicable jurisdiction can allow parties to plan ahead to avoid unnecessary tax liability.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.