Justia Patents Opinion Summaries

In 1996, Drs. Lo and Wainscoat discovered cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma and serum, the portion of maternal blood samples that other researchers had previously discarded as medical waste. cffDNA is non-cellular fetal DNA that circulates freely in the blood stream of a pregnant woman. Applying a combination of known laboratory techniques to their discovery,they implemented a method for detecting the small fraction of paternally inherited cffDNA in maternal plasma or serum to determine fetal characteristics, such as gender. The invention, commercialized by Sequenom as its MaterniT21 test, created an alternative for prenatal diagnosis of fetal DNA that avoids the risks of widely-used techniques that took samples from the fetus or placenta. In 2001, they obtained the 540 patent, which does not claim cffDNA or paternally inherited cffDNA, but claims methods of using cffDNA to diagnose certain fetal characteristics based on the detection of paternally inherited cffDNA. The district court found that the asserted claims of the 540 patent are not directed to patent eligible subject matter and were invalid under 35 U.S.C. 101. The Federal Circuit affirmed. While the discovery regarding cffDNA was a significant contribution to the medical field, that alone does not make it patentable. View "Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc.v. Sequenom, Inc." on Justia Law

OIP Technologies sued Amazon.com alleging infringement of its 713 patent, which claims computer-implemented methods for “pricing a product for sale.” The patent explains that traditionally merchandisers manually determine prices based on their qualitative knowledge of the items, pricing experience, and other business policies. In setting the price of a particular good, the merchandiser estimates the shape of a demand curve for a particular product based on, for example, the good itself, the brand strength, market conditions, seasons, and past sales. The713 patent states that a problem with this approach is that the merchandiser is slow to react to changing market conditions, resulting in an imperfect pricing model where the merchandiser often is not charging an optimal price that maximizes profit and teaches a price-optimization method that “help[s] vendors automatically reach better pricing decisions through automatic estimation and measurement of actual demand to select prices.” The district court granted judgment on the pleadings, concluding that the patent does not claim patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. The Federal Circuit affirmed, agreeing that the patent claims no more than an abstract idea coupled with routine data-gathering steps and conventional computer activity. View "OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc." on Justia Law

Kaneka owns the 340 Patent, which describes processes for producing oxidized and reduced coenzyme Q10. The claims at issue describe processes for producing oxidized coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 exists in animal cells. Cells use coenzyme Q10 to produce adenosine triphosphate, which aids cellular respiration. Coenzyme Q10 assists adenosine triphosphate production through redox reactions, in which the coenzyme gives up and gains electrons. Both oxidized and reduced coenzyme Q10 are sold as dietary supplements. In Kaneka’s infringement suit, the district court entered summary judgment of noninfringement, based on its construction of the term “inert gas atmosphere” to mean “a gas atmosphere that is free or substantially free of oxygen and reactive gases,” and of “sealed tank” to mean “a tank that is closed to prevent the entry or exit of materials,” and of “oxidizing.” The Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to certain claims; held that the oxidation step requires some action that results in oxidation but does not require oxidation of “all or substantially all” of the coenzyme Q10; vacated summary judgment of noninfringement of other claims; and remanded. View "Kaneka Corp. v. Xiamen Kingdomway Grp. Co." on Justia Law

The 109 patent, entitled “Gelatinous Elastomer Compositions and Articles,” is directed to composite articles of a thermoplastic gel and a substrate, such as foam or fabric, used as a protective liner between an amputated limb and a prosthetic limb. According to the patent, prosthetic liners that incorporate the claimed composite articles are comfortable and skin-friendly, and more durable than previous liners. Alps licensed several AEI patents, including the 109 patent. Shortly thereafter, Alps, without naming AEI as a co-plaintiff, filed a patent infringement suit against OWW. Alps declined to join as co-plaintiff. OWW moved to dismiss for lack of standing. Alps and AEI executed an amended license agreement 16 months after Alps commenced the action, listing the effective date of the original agreement. The court denied the motion, finding that the terms of the original agreement was sufficed to provide Alps with standing and that, under the nunc pro tunc amended agreement, Alps “clearly possesses the substantial rights to proceed without [AEI].” A jury found the patent valid and infringed. The Federal Circuit reversed the denial of OWW’s motion to dismiss and vacated the judgment. Alps possessed neither legal title nor all substantial rights at the outset of the litigation, and was required to join AEI, as a co-plaintiff. View "Alps South, LLC v. Ohio Willow Wood Co." on Justia Law

Shire markets oral pharmaceuticals under the brand name LIALDA®. Its patent, entitled “Mesalazine Controlled Release Oral Pharmaceutical Composition,” concerns controlled-release compositions for treating inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis by direct contact with the intestinal mucosal tissue. It must pass through the stomach and small intestine without being absorbed into the bloodstream and must be administered throughout the entire length of the colon so that mesalamine contacts all affected tissues. The oral composition must, therefore, contain a high percentage of mesalamine. The patent teaches an inner lipophilic matrix and an outer hydrophilic matrix to address the limitations of prior art; the combination is advantageous because the inner-outer matrix properties cause the mesalamine to be released in a sustained and uniform manner. Watson submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application seeking approval to sell generic LIALDA®. Shire sued. The district court found infringement. The Federal Circuit reversed. The district court’s constructions of “inner lipophilic matrix” and “outer hydrophilic matrix” impermissibly broadened the ordinary meaning of the terms. On remand, following the Supreme Court decision, Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz (2015), the Federal Circuit again reversed the district court’s constructions of the disputed claim terms and subsequent findings of infringement, and remanded. View "Shire Dev., LLC v. Watson Pharma., Inc." on Justia Law

Commil, holder of a patent for a method of implementing short-range wireless networks, sued, claiming that Cisco Systems, a maker and seller of wireless networking equipment, had directly infringed Commil’s patent in its networking equipment and had induced others to infringe the patent by selling the infringing equipment for use. After two trials, Cisco was found liable for both direct and induced infringement. Cisco had raised the defense that it had a good-faith belief that Commil’s patent was invalid, but the court found Cisco’s supporting evidence inadmissible. The Federal Circuit held that the trial court erred in excluding evidence of a good-faith belief that Commil’s patent was invalid. The Supreme Court vacated and remanded. A defendant’s belief regarding patent validity is not a defense to an induced infringement claim. The Court noted the long held presumption that a patent is valid; 35 U.S.C. 282(a) establishes a high bar, the clear and convincing standard, to rebut the presumption. If a patent is actually shown to be invalid, there is no patent to be infringed. Orderly administration of the patent system requires courts to interpret and implement the statutory framework to determine the procedures and sequences that the parties must follow to prove the act of wrongful inducement and any related issues of patent validity. Accused inducers who believe a patent is invalid have other, proper ways to obtain a ruling to that effect, including seeking ex parte reexamination. View "Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc." on Justia Law

A jury found that Samsung smartphones infringed and diluted Apple’s patents and trade dresses amd awarded Apple $290,456,793. The Federal Circuit affirmed the verdict on the design patent infringements, the validity of two utility patent claims, and the damages awarded for the design and utility patent infringements, but reversed findings that the asserted trade dresses are protectable. Apple claimed elements from its iPhone 3G and 3GS products to define an asserted unregistered trade dress: a rectangular product with four evenly rounded corners; a flat, clear surface covering the front of the product; a display screen under the clear surface; substantial black borders above and below the display screen and narrower black borders on either side of the screen; and when the device is on, a row of small dots on the display screen, a matrix of colorful square icons with evenly rounded corners within the display screen, and an unchanging bottom dock of colorful square icons with evenly rounded corners set off from the display’s other icons. The registered trade dress claims the design details in each of the 16 icons on the iPhone’s home screen framed by the iPhone’s rounded-rectangular shape with silver edges and a black background. View "Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co., Inc." on Justia Law

Elan marketed metaxalone, a muscle relaxant, under the brand-name Skelaxin. Years after Skelaxin’s approval, Elan learned that another company conducted in vivo bioequivalence fasting studies and in vitro dissolution tests on metaxalone and that, based on the results, the FDA proposed to change the designation of metaxalone from “non bioproblem” to “bioproblem.” Elan initiated a study and observed a significant effect of food on bioavailability. Elan petitioned the FDA to require both fed and fasting data for any abbreviated new drug application for a generic version of Skelaxin and to revise its product label. The FDA granted both. Elan obtained patents based on its bioavailability data, which were later invalidated in light of prior art. Classen’s 472 patent is directed to a method for accessing and analyzing data on a commercially available drug to identify a new use of that drug, and commercializing that new use. Classen alleged that Elan infringed that patent when it studied the effect of food on Skelaxin’s bioavailability, used the data to identify a new use, and commercialized that use. The court entered summary judgment of noninfringement, finding Elan protected by the safe harbor provision of 35 U.S.C. 271(e)(1), for activities “reasonably related to the submission of information” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. During ex parte reexamination of the 472 patent, the PTO cancelled 107 of the 137 originally issued claims. The Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to the 271(e)(1) exemption, but remanded an allegation that activities that occurred after the FDA submissions infringed the 472 patent and were not exempt. View "Classen Immunotherapies, Inc. v. Elan Pharma., Inc." on Justia Law

The 703 patent concerns a method of delivering internet content. A jury found that Limelight practices every step of the methods disclosed in the patent’s four claims except the “tagging” step, which is performed by Limelight’s customers. Customers must tag the content to be hosted and delivered by Limelight’s content delivery network. Limelight instructs its customers how to tag, and employees are on call if customers require additional assistance. In a 2014 decision, the Federal Circuit held that because Limelight did not perform all of the steps of the asserted method claims and because there was no basis on which to impose liability on Limelight for the actions of its customers who carried out the other steps Limelight did not directly infringed the patent under 35 U.S.C. 271(a). After remand by the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit again found no infringement, stating that the statutory framework “does not admit to the sweeping notions of common-law tort liability argued in this case.” The court noted that the case involved neither agency nor contract nor joint enterprise. Encouraging or instructing others to perform an act is not the same as performing the act oneself and does not result in direct infringement. View "Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc.." on Justia Law

ArcelorMittal alleged infringement of the 805 patent, directed toward a steel sheet with “a very high mechanical resistance” after thermal treatment. The court construed the phrase “very high mechanical resistance” as limited to steel with a tensile strength greater than 1500 MPa. The Federal Circuit affirmed the construction, but remanded on other grounds. While the appeal was pending, ArcelorMittal sought reissue to correct the construction. The application issued as the RE153 patent, adding dependent claims, including: claim 23, which recites “[t]he coated steel sheet of claim 1, wherein said mechanical resistance is in excess of 1000 MPa”; claim 24, which confines claim 1 to the construction affirmed by the Federal Circuit by claiming “[t]he coated steel sheet of claim 1, wherein said mechanical resistance is in excess of 1500 MPa”; and claim 25, which depends on and further limits claim 24. ArcelorMittal amended its complaint. The district court granted summary judgment on remand, finding claims 1 through 23 of the RE153 patent invalid as impermissibly broadened in the reissue proceedings (35 U.S.C. 251.1). The Federal Circuit reversed in part, finding that newly added claims 24 and 25 were not broadened during reissue. The court was bound by its construction of the original claims; the reissue claims broadened that construction. View "Arcelormittal France v. AK Steel Corp." on Justia Law