Justia Patents Opinion Summaries

The patents at issue are listed in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (Orange Book) for NUCYNTA® ER (extended release), a tapentadol hydrochloride tablet. The 364 patent is directed to the Form A polymorph of the chemical compound tapentadol hydrochloride and a method of treating pain and/or urinary incontinence and states that Form A “is very stable at ambient conditions and therefore useful for producing a pharmaceutical composition.” The 130 patent describes a method of using tapentadol and tapentadol hydrochloride for the treatment of polyneuropathic pain, which is caused by damage to multiple nerves. In an infringement suit, stemming from Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) filings seeking to market generic versions of immediate and extended release tapentadol hydrochloride tablets, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court in finding that the 364 patent is not invalid for obviousness or lack of utility (the defendants had stipulated to infringement) and that the ANDA filings do not infringe the 130 patent, which is not invalid as anticipated. View "Grunenthal GMBH v. Alkem Laboratories Limited" on Justia Law

ChargePoint’s patents pertain to charging stations for electric vehicles. At the time the patent application was filed, the charging process “typically require[d] hours and [was] often done overnight or while the electric vehicle [was] parked for a significant time.” Businesses such as restaurants, apartments, and shopping centers have installed electric vehicle charging stations for the convenience of their customers. During periods of high demand, utility companies sometimes reduce the power supply to certain customers based on a preplanned load prioritization scheme, (demand response). In addition to pulling electricity from a local electricity grid, electric vehicles may also supply electricity to the grid. Vehicle-to-grid transfer can be helpful during periods of high demand. ChargePoint contends that its inventors created networked charging stations, managed from a central location, allowing drivers to locate charging stations in advance, and allowing all users to interact intelligently with the electricity grid; the patents suggest that drivers can choose to transfer power from their vehicles to the power grid during periods of high demand. The Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of ChargePoint’s infringement suit. The eight asserted claims ChargePoint were ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. 101, as directed to abstract ideas concerning communication. View "ChargePoint, Inc. v. SemaConnect, Inc." on Justia Law

Endo’s patent, entitled “Method of treating pain utilizing controlled release oxymorphone pharmaceutical compositions and instruction on dosing for renal impairment,” covers a method of using oxymorphone to treat pain in patients with impaired kidney function. Controlled-release dosage forms that maintain optimal levels of pain relief for longer periods are useful to patients and clinicians. Patients’ pain relief levels can be impacted by the way their body processes oxymorphone. The inventor discovered that patients with moderately or severely impaired kidney function need less oxymorphone than usual to achieve a similar level of pain management. The Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s conclusion that the claims were patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101. The district court incorrectly concluded that the claims at issue are directed to a natural law. The claims prescribe a regimen for specific patients, using a specific compound at specific doses to achieve a specific outcome. Claiming a new treatment for an ailment, albeit using a natural law, is not claiming the natural law. View "Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc." on Justia Law

Arctic’s patents, both titled “Power Distribution Module for Personal Recreational Vehicle,” describe an assertedly inventive electrical-connection box having an array of receptacle openings that allow wires to be arranged and secured in various positions for distributing power to various electrical components, including components of a personal recreational vehicle. GEP petitioned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for inter partes reviews of all claims of both patents under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103. The Board determined that all claims of the patents are unpatentable. The Federal Circuit affirmed as to the 822 patent but reversed in part as to the 188 patent. The Board did not abuse its discretion in rejecting the deposition-transcript submission and correctly held preamble references to a vehicle in the claims at issue not to be limiting. The Board improperly determined that Boyd was prior art; the inventions antedated Boyd. View "Arctic Cat Inc. v. GEP Power Products, Inc." on Justia Law

While the interconnectivity of computer networks facilitates access for authorized users, it also increases a network’s susceptibility to attacks from hackers, malware, and other security threats. Some of these security threats can only be detected with information from multiple sources. SRI developed the inventions claimed in patents titled “Network Surveillance” and “Hierarchical Event Monitoring and Analysis.” SRI had performed considerable research and development on network intrusion detection before filing the patents-in-suit. In an infringement suit, the district court denied Cisco’s motion for summary judgment of patent ineligibility, construed the claim term “network traffic data,” granted summary judgment of no anticipation, and denied judgment as a matter of law of no willful infringement. The court awarded enhanced damages, attorneys’ fees, and ongoing royalties. The Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of summary judgment of ineligibility, adopted the claim construction, and affirmed summary judgment of no anticipation but vacated and remanded the denial of judgment as a matter of law of no willful infringement, and therefore vacated the enhancement of damages. The court also vacated the award of attorneys’ fees and remanded for recalculation and affirmed the award of ongoing royalties on post-verdict sales of products that were actually found to infringe or are not colorably different. View "SRI International, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc." on Justia Law

Natural owns patents relating to dietary supplements containing beta-alanine (an amino acid). Together with histidine, another amino acid, beta-alanine can form dipeptides that are involved in the regulation of intracellular pH during muscle contraction and development of fatigue. Variations in dipeptide concentrations affect the anaerobic work capacity of athletes. One dipeptide, carnosine, contributes to hydronium ion buffering. During certain sustained exercise, hydronium ions and lactate can accumulate and severely reduce intracellular pH; reduced pH interferes with the creatine-phosphorylcreatine system, part of the process by which energy is generated in muscle cells. Natural's patents generally relate to the use of beta-alanine in a dietary supplement to “increas[e] the anaerobic working capacity of muscle and other tissue.” The district court applied the Supreme Court’s 2015 two-part “Alice” test and held all of the asserted claims were directed to patent ineligible subject matter (35 U.S.C. 101_ and lacked an inventive concept. The Federal Circuit reversed. Under Natural’s proposed claim constructions, the Method Claims are not directed to an exception to section 101 under the first step of the Alice test, so judgment on the pleadings was inappropriate. The Product Claims contain a dietary supplement limitation, with the same proposed construction, which does not support the idea that this limitation was well-understood, routine, and conventional. The Manufacturing Claims are not directed to the natural law or product of nature, but are an application of the law and new use of that product. View "Natural Alternatives International, Inc.. v. Creative Compunds, LLC" on Justia Law

Drug manufacturers filed Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the Food and Drug Administration seeking to market generic versions of Saphris, a drug product sold by Forest Laboratories. Saphris is a sublingually administered, atypical antipsychotic containing asenapine maleate. Forest sued for patent infringement, asserting that the proposed generic products would infringe claims of its patents. The district court held the generic manufacturers had not established certain claims to be invalid and held Forest had not established infringement of certain claims as to two manufacturers. The Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the validity determination, and for reconsideration infringement under a corrected claim construction. The district court erred in treating “excitation” as being limited to “excitation disorders.” The court rejected claims concerning sufficient written description, obviousness, and the construction of other claims. View "Forest Laboratories, LLC v. Sigmapharm Laboratories, LLC" on Justia Law

PersonalWeb’s patent explains that in conventional data processing systems, data items such as files are typically identified by their user-created alphanumeric name and/or pathname or location. Problems arise with traditional naming conventions if, for example, one device transfers a data item to a second device where the data item already exists so that a duplicate is created. The patent addresses that concern and others by creating a substantially unique identifier for each data item in the data processing system, independent of the data item’s user-defined name, location, etc., and dependent on only the content of the data item itself. The identifier for a particular data item is created by applying a cryptographic hash function to the data item. The output of the hash function is the content-based identifier or “True Name,” which is “virtually guaranteed” to be unique to the data item. In inter partes review, the Patent Board found that several claims were unpatentable as obvious in light of two prior art references. The Federal Circuit reversed. The Board relied on a “proposed, theoretical Binary Object Identifier look-up table” that does not necessarily exist in one of the references, so the Board’s reliance on inherency for that element in its obviousness analysis was improper. View "Personal Web Technologies, LLC v. Apple, Inc." on Justia Law

In this dispute regarding the commercialization of a patent covering a method for pooling insurance policies the Court of Chancery granted Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings in which they argued that they did not owe any of the contractual or fiduciary obligations that Plaintiff sought to enforce, holding that Defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.Plaintiff brought this action asserting claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties related to Defendants’ business development of a patent-holding entity and Defendants’ failure to provide certain information to Plaintiff. The Court of Chancery granted Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings, thus mooting Plaintiff’s motion to compel and motion for default judgment, holding That Defendants carried their burden to show that Plaintiff could prove no set of facts in support of his claims that would entitle him to relief and that Defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. View "Ross v. Institutional Longevity Assets LLC" on Justia Law

The University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) patent is titled “Managing Critical Care Physiologic Data Using Data Synthesis Technology.” In 2017, UFRF sued GE, alleging infringement. GE argued that the claims of the patent were directed to ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. The district court dismissed, applying the two-step framework described by the Supreme Court in its 2014 “Alice” decision to conclude that the claims are directed to an abstract idea and do not recite an inventive concept. The Federal Circuit affirmed, first rejecting UFRF’s argument that, as an arm of the State of Florida, it enjoyed sovereign immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. By bringing its claim of infringement, UFRF waived its sovereign immunity as to any relevant defenses. The patent seeks to automate “pen and paper methodologies” to conserve human resources and minimize errors, a quintessential “do it on a computer” patent. Such claims are directed to abstract ideas. The claimed “programmatic action involving said machine-independent data” can be performed using “[a]ny kind of computer system or other apparatus,” including a “general-purpose computer system.” The claims do no “more than simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea . . . on a generic computer.” View "University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. v. General Electric Co." on Justia Law