Patent Law

USPTO Seeking Nominations for Public Advisory Committee Members

Posted on April 16, 2010
By Sarah Fendrick -- In a notice published in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 15417), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is seeking nominations for three members to both the Patent and Trademark Public Advisory Committees...

GSK Senior Vice President to Start IP Consulting Firm

Posted on April 16, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- Sherry Knowles, Senior Vice President, Global Patents for GlaxoSmithKline has announced that she will be leaving GSK in June to start a consulting firm that will focus on IP management, business development, and monetizing assets in the area of pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, and medical devices...

In re Suitco Surface, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2010)

Posted on April 15, 2010
By Kevin E. Noonan -- It is a bedrock principle of patent practice that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gives the terms of claims under examination their broadest reasonable construction. The rationale is that, in this way, the applicant has the opportunity to argue or amend the claims to be as broad as the prior art permits, and precludes the applicant from expanding beyond these limits the scope of granted claims it asserts against accused infringers...

USPTO Launches Ombudsman Pilot Program

Posted on April 15, 2010
By Sarah Fendrick -- Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the launch of a new ombudsman pilot program that will provide patent applicants with more assistance with application processing problems. The new pilot program allows applicants experiencing problems during processing to contact an ombudsman representative...

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Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Applera Corp. (Fed. Cir. 2010)

Posted on April 14, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- On March 26, the Federal Circuit reversed the judgment of the District Court for the District of Connecticut that U.S. Patent Nos. 5,328,824 and 5,449,767 are invalid, affirmed the judgment of the District Court that U.S. Patent No. 5,476,928 is anticipated, and affirmed the judgment of the District Court that 5,082,830 is not infringed...

This Just In -- The Anti-commons Aren't So Tragic

Posted on April 13, 2010
By Kevin E. Noonan -- The problem, according to the academics and the pundits, is that patent exclusivity in certain areas (such as gene patents) would result in a "tragedy of the anti-commons," inhibiting innovation. One of the many manifestations of this tragedy, according to such august bodies as the National Academy of Science and the Federal Trade Commission, was expected to be an increase in litigation as patentees protected their exclusive rights...

Court Report

Posted on April 12, 2010
By Sherri Oslick -- About Court Report: Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases. Warner Chilcott Co. LLC et al. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. 1:10-cv-00285; filed April 8, 2010 in the District Court of Delaware ? Plaintiffs: Warner Chilcott Co...

USPTO Announces Streamlined Procedure for Appeal Brief Review

Posted on April 12, 2010
By Sarah Fendrick -- In a recent notice in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 15689), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) introduced a new procedure for the review of appeal briefs. The new procedure aims to provide more efficient review of appeal briefs and to reduce the pendency of appeals...

Conference & CLE Calendar

Posted on April 12, 2010
April 11-17, 2010 - Advanced Patent Courses (Patent Resources Group) - Bonita Springs, FL April 14, 2010 - "Obviousness Standard for Patents Post-KSR: Strategies to Withstand USPTO Obviousness Rejections and Attacks on Patent Validity" (Strafford) - 1:00 - 2:30 PM (EST) April 19-21, 2010 - Intellectual Property Counsels Committee (IPCC) Spring Conference & Meeting (Biotechnology Industry Organization) - New Orleans, LA April 22, 2010 - "Bio-Similars: The New Litigation Landscape" (Intellectual Property Owners Association) - 2:00 - 3:00 PM (EST) April 23-24, 2010 - 12th Comprehensive PCT Seminar (Franklin Pierce Law Center & World Intellectual Property Organization) - Concord, NH...

CAFC Judicial Conference

Posted on April 10, 2010
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will be holding a Judicial Conference entitled "The Federal Circuit: A National Court of Appeals: Approaching 30 Years" on May 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. Topics and speakers at the conference will include: ? A Conversation about the Federal Circuit's History - Professor F...

Biosimilars CLE

Posted on April 10, 2010
The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) will offer a one-hour webinar entitled: "Bio-Similars: The New Litigation Landscape" on Thursday, April 22, 2010 beginning at 2:00 PM (EST). The IPO webinar will provide an overview of the healthcare reform measure that creates a regulatory pathway for generic versions of large-molecule biotech drugs, which bears some resemblance to the longstanding Hatch-Waxman regime that sets out how generic drug companies can challenge patents held by pharmaceutical companies on small-molecule medicines...

He's Baaack!

Posted on April 09, 2010
Congressman Becerra Once Again Tries to Ban Gene Patenting by Statute By Kevin E. Noonan -- When last we encountered Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-CA), he was rumored to be headed for a post as U.S. Trade Representative (see "Proponent of Gene Patent Ban to Leave Congress")...

Patent Profile: Kylin Therapeutics Receives Patent Covering pRNA Technology

Posted on April 08, 2010
By James DeGiulio -- On Apr. 6, 2010, Kylin Therapeutics of West Lafayette, IN announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,655,787, which broadly covers a number of functionalities for Kylin's lead technology platform, "pRNA," or "packaging RNA." These functionalities include receptor binding, ribozyme activity, and RNA-interference...

"60 Minutes" and "Newshour" Take Different Approaches to Covering Gene Patenting Story

Posted on April 07, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- On Sunday, the CBS news program "60 Minutes" examined the issue of gene patenting in a segment entitled "Patented Genes." During the segment, CBS News correspondent Morley Safer interviewed Lisbeth Ceriani and Genae Girard, who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer and who are plaintiffs in the Association of Molecular Pathology v...

AMP v. USPTO: What Everyone Else Is Saying

Posted on April 07, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- Last week, the District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Association of Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, finding the claims of several patents directed to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes invalid as encompassing non-statutory subject matter (see "Round One Goes to the ACLU")...

USPTO Seeks to Effectively Double Provisional Application Period

Posted on April 05, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- On Friday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a notice in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 16750) seeking comments regarding a proposed change in practice that would, according to Office press release, effectively provide a 12?month extension to the existing 12-month provisional application period...

Court Report

Posted on April 05, 2010
By Sherri Oslick -- About Court Report: Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases. Roche Palo Alto LLC v. Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. 1:10-cv-00261; filed March 31, 2010 in the District Court of Delaware Infringement of U...

Conference & CLE Calendar

Posted on April 05, 2010
April 7, 2010 - First Annual Board Conference (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences) - Alexandria, VA April 7-10, 2010 - 25th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference (American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law) - Arlington, VA April 11-17, 2010 - Advanced Patent Courses (Patent Resources Group) - Bonita Springs, FL April 14, 2010 - "Obviousness Standard for Patents Post-KSR: Strategies to Withstand USPTO Obviousness Rejections and Attacks on Patent Validity" (Strafford) - 1:00 - 2:30 PM (EST) April 19-21, 2010 - Intellectual Property Counsels Committee (IPCC) Spring Conference & Meeting (Biotechnology Industry Organization)...

AMP v. USPTO: What the Parties Are Saying About the Decision

Posted on April 02, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- On Monday, the District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in Association of Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, finding the claims of several patents directed to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes invalid as encompassing non-statutory subject matter (see "Round One Goes to the ACLU")...

"60 Minutes" Examines Gene Patenting Issue on Sunday, April 4th -- Patent Docs Author Kevin Noonan to Appear on Program

Posted on April 02, 2010
On Sunday, April 4, 2010, the CBS news program "60 Minutes" will take a look at the issue of gene patenting in a segment entitled "Patented Genes." According to the program's website, the segment will examine the question of whether "companies [should] be able to own human genes," and "the idea of biotech firms patenting genes for profit" (a preview of the program and video clip can be found here) Patent Docs author Dr...

"Takings" by Congress and the Courts

Posted on April 01, 2010
By Kevin E. Noonan -- In a recent article in the journal Science, Sherry Knowles, the Chief Patent Counsel at GlaxoSmithKline, raises several interesting questions regarding the concept of "takings" of property in the patent context. In a "Policy Forum" article entitled "Fixing the Legal Framework for Pharmaceutical Research," Ms...

Director Kappos Testifies before House Subcommittee Regarding USPTO Budget

Posted on April 01, 2010
By Sarah Fendrick -- On March 25, 2010, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director David Kappos appeared before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Sciences, and Related Agencies for the Committee on Appropriations to seek funds for FY 2011 to enable USPTO operations and to fund a variety of Office initiatives and programs...

Caught in a Time Warp: The (In)validity of BRCA1 Oligonucleotide Claims

Posted on March 31, 2010
By Kevin E. Noonan -- Albeit a bit anticlimactically, a study published in the journal Genomics assesses the patentability of one of the claims invalidated on Monday by Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Southern District of New York in Association of Molecular Pathology v...

Round One Goes to the ACLU

Posted on March 30, 2010
Association of Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office By Kevin E. Noonan -- Not surprisingly, Judge Robert W. Sweet of the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the plaintiffs today in Association of Molecular Pathology v. U...

False Patent Marking Bill Introduced in the House

Posted on March 30, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- On Thursday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced a bill in the House (H.R. 4954) that would amend 35 U.S.C. § 292(b) to permit "[a] person who has suffered a competitive injury as a result of a violation of this section may file a civil action in a district court of the United States for recovery of damages adequate to compensate for the injury...

EPO Search Fees Set to Decrease on April 1, 2010

Posted on March 30, 2010
By Christopher P. Singer -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office sent out an e-mail alert on March 26, 2010 advising that it has been informed by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that the European Patent Office (EPO) will decrease its search fee when acting as the International Search Authority (ISA)...

In re Arora (Fed. Cir. 2010)

Posted on March 29, 2010
By Donald Zuhn -- Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit, in In re Arora, affirmed a decision of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirming the rejection of claims 11-16 of Appellant Arun Arora's application as being obvious in view of U...

Court Report

Posted on March 29, 2010
By Sherri Oslick -- About Court Report: Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases. Biogen Idec, Inc. et al. v. Glaxosmithkline LLC et al. 3:10-cv-00608; filed March 24, 2010 in the Southern District of California ? Plaintiffs: Biogen Idec, Inc...

Conference & CLE Calendar

Posted on March 29, 2010
March 30, 2010 - "The Bilski Decision: Expert Strategies to Manage Its Impact on University IP" (Technology Transfer Tactics) - 1:00 - 2:30 PM (EST) April 7, 2010 - First Annual Board Conference (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences) - Alexandria, VA April 7-10, 2010 - 25th Annual Intellectual Property Law Conference (American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law) - Arlington, VA April 11-17, 2010 - Advanced Patent Courses (Patent Resources Group) - Bonita Springs, FL April 14, 2010 - "Obviousness Standard for Patents Post-KSR: Strategies to Withstand USPTO Obviousness Rejections and Attacks on...

GW Law Symposium on Intellectual Property

Posted on March 27, 2010
The George Washington University Law School (with Howrey LLP and Cornerstone Research) will be holding its second annual Law Symposium on Intellectual Property on May 11, 2010 on The George Washington University Law School, at 2000 H Street NW, Washington, DC...

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