Justia Patents Opinion Summaries

The patent involves screening devices used in the pulp and paper industry. According to the specification of the asserted patent, a persistent problem in the screening process is clogging of the openings in the screen resulting in reduced efficiency. The patent purports to include specially-designed screening devices that offer substantially increased efficiency and flow capacity. Submission for reissue in 2003 was initially rejected as anticipated by prior art 35 U.S.C. 102 (b). After the examiner withdrew the rejection, the patent-holder filed suit for infringement. The district court entered summary judgment of noninfringement and lack of willfulness. The Federal Circuit affirmed on willfulness, but reversed with respect to infringement, finding that the court erred in its construction of the term "perforated."View "Advanced Fiber Tech. Trust. v. J&L Fiber Serv., Inc." on Justia Law

In 1996, RG, exclusive licensee of a German patent and corresponding patents in the U.S., Europe, and Japan relating to genetic identification, entered into a license agreement with Promega, granting Promega certain licenses. The agreement included a clause, providing that “all controversies or disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or relating to the breach thereof, shall be resolved by arbitration” and prohibited assignment without consent. Assignments were approved in 2001 and 2003; a subsequent assignment from IP to LT was not approved. In 2008 LT believed that Promega was paying less than required royalties. Negotiations failed and LT demanded arbitration. Promega sought a declaratory judgment of non-arbitrability, alleging infringement of five patents and contenting that rights under the 1996 agreement had never been assigned to LT. IP then moved to compel arbitration. The district court ordered arbitration, finding that IP was the assignee, remained in existence, and that it was irrelevant that Promega alleged that IP was merely a puppet of LT. The Federal Circuit affirmed.View "Promega Corp. v. Life Tech. Corp." on Justia Law

Avery and 3M are competitors in the market for retroreflective sheeting technology, used in applications including road signs. In 2001, Avery sued 3M concerning patents not currently at issue; during the course of settlement discussions, 3M became aware that Avery was prosecuting reissue of the Heenan patents. Avery indicated that certain 3M sheeting products might infringe the patents and that licenses were available. 3M rejected the suggestion and asked for more information. Avery responded that it had performed an analysis of 3M’s product and would send claim charts, but never did so. The patents emerged from reissue 2009. n 2010 Avery filed another unrelated patent infringement claim and 3M filed with respect to the Heenan patents. 3M conceded that conversations prior to 2009 were covered by a confidentiality agreement that precluded their use as a basis to support a declaratory judgment action, then cancelled its declaratory judgments claims and refiled those claims separately (the current action). The district court dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Federal Circuit vacated, noting that the court would have jurisdiction under facts alleged by 3M and that the court did not resolve those factual issues. View "3M Co. v. Avery Dennison Corp." on Justia Law

The patent describes an infusion system used to meter and deliver fluids from multiple sources into a patient's body. Different fluids may be discharged at different rates using a central control device. Ergo sued CareFusion for infringement of several of the patent's claims; the parties stipulated that several terms were means-plus-function terms, including the terms "programmable control means" and "control means." The parties agreed that the analysis for both terms is the same and that the function for the terms is "controlling the adjusting means." The district court held that the "control means" terms are indefinite for failure to disclose corresponding structure. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Ergo Licensing, LLC v. CareFusion 303, Inc." on Justia Law

The patent claims at issue covered processes that help doctors who use thiopurine drugs to treat patients with autoimmune diseases determine whether a given dosage level was too low or too high. The claims purported to apply natural laws describing the relationships between the concentration in the blood of certain thiopurine metabolites and the likelihood that the drug dosage would be ineffective or induce harmful side-effects. At issue was whether the claimed processes have transformed these unpatentable natural laws into patent-eligible applications of those laws. The Court concluded that they have not done so and that therefore the processes were not patentable. The steps in the claimed processes involved well-understood, routine, conventional activity previously engaged in by researchers in the field. At the same time, upholding the patents would risk disproportionately tying up the use of the underlying natural laws, inhibiting their use in the making of further discoveries. Therefore, the Court reversed the judgment of the Federal Circuit. View "Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc." on Justia Law

The patents are directed to regulating access to content that is delivered through a computer network. Digital-Vending sued three businesses involved in online education, alleging infringement. The district court issued a claim construction order. Two defendants entered into settlements. The third, University of Phoenix, sought summary judgment of non-infringement. Digital-Vending filed a motion for reconsideration of construction of the term "registered user." The district court granted for summary judgment of non-infringement and entered judgment in favor of Phoenix. The Federal Circuit vacated in part, finding that the determination was based on erroneous construction, and affirmed in part. View "Digital-Vending Servs. Int'l, LLC v. Univ. of Phoenix, Inc." on Justia Law

MySpace, FOX, and Craigslist sought declaratory judgment that certain patents owned by GraphOn were invalid and not infringed by plaintiffs. The patents related to the ability to create, modify, and store database records over a computer network. The District Court granted plaintiffs summary judgment. The Federal Circuit affirmed. The district court's claim construction of "database" was reasonable and supported by the context; its overall conclusion that the claims were anticipated or obvious was appropriate. The case was properly decided under sections 102 and 103 of the Patent Act and not under section 101. View "MySpace, Inc. v. Graphon Corp." on Justia Law

The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences declared an interference between the claims of a patent belonging to Pioneer and those of a pending application owned by Monsanto. The claims concern transgenic corn. After the Board concluded that Monsanto was not time-barred under 35 U.S.C. 135(b)(1) and that its claims were entitled to seniority, Pioneer stipulated to judgment against it and the Board canceled Pioneer's claims. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Pioneer Hi-Bred Int'l, Inc. v. Monsanto Tech., LLC" on Justia Law

Defendant's patent discloses an investment tool designed to enable property owners to buy and sell properties without incurring tax liability by enabling like-kind exchanges under 26 U.S.C. 1031. The claims require aggregation of multiple properties into a portfolio; interests in the portfolio are divided into "deed shares" and sold to investors similar to the sale of stock. Each deedshare can be encumbered by its own mortgage. The patent allows for a master tenant to perform administrative tasks such as paying insurance, property taxes, and rents. The district court invalidated each of 41 claims in the patent for failing to claim patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C.101, reasoning that the claims were not tied to a particular machine or apparatus and that none of the claims transform any article to a different state or thing. The Federal Circuit affirmed, holding that the claims attempt to capture unpatentable abstract subject matter. View "Fort Props., Inc. v. Am. Master Lease, LLC" on Justia Law

The 690 patent is directed to a process for clarifying low alkalinity water using a blend of a high molecular weight quaternized polymer and an aluminum polymer. Claim 1 refers to a process for clarification of water of "raw alkalinity less than or equal to 50 ppm by chemical treatment." A jury found that the 690 patent was valid and indirectly infringed. The Federal Circuit reversed in part, holding that the verdict that the 690 patent was not invalid under 35 U.S.C. 102 was not supported by substantial evidence.The court affirmed that defendant did not misappropriate the trade secret described in claim 1. View "ClearValue, Inc. v. Pearl River Polymers, Inc." on Justia Law