Patent Litigation

Despite leaving unresolved the ambiguity about the effect of secret sales under §102, the Helsinn ruling offers clues to practitioners seeking to avoid the on-sale bar.

Although TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods answers the question of where a domestic corporation resides in patent infringement cases, it does not fully answer the question of where proper venue lies.

PTAB Did Not Deny Procedural Due Process By Adopting a Claim Construction not Offered by the Parties During IPR
USPTO Did Not Exceed Authority in Granting Inter Partes Reexamination after Requester Sought to Have It Denied

Starting in 2013, the USPTO has been requesting reimbursement for the time spent by its attorneys and paralegals on district court challenges to PTAB and TTAB decisions.

The landscape for patent law has changed more quickly over the last five years than it had in preceding decades. Recent cases have profoundly changed the way courts and the USPTO treat patents and patent applications. The U.S. Supreme Court will have ample opportunity, if it chooses, to revisit the issues that have been raised by these cases over the next few terms.

District Court's Decision Retroactively Excusing Failure to Mark Patented Products Vacated By Federal Circuit
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB's Unpatentability Findings Made In an IPR Proceeding Despite Prior Judicial Opinions Upholding Validity

The U.S. Supreme Court did not appear eager to upset the patent litigation landscape by drastically limiting where infringement lawsuits can be filed.

SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products

The U.S. Supreme Court on March 21 ruled laches is not a defense to patent infringement suits that are brought within the Patent Act's limitations period.