Justia Patents Opinion Summaries

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

In 1996, Staats applied for a patent titled "Isochronous Channel Having a Linked List of Buffers.” The 600 patent issued in 1999, describing improvements to management of isochronous data transfers, such as transfer of real-time video data from one component to another in a computer system. Within the two-year period, 35 U.S.C. 251, Staats filed a first broadening reissue application. The first reissue patent issued in 2004. While that application was pending, Staats filed a second broadening reissue application in 2004, as a continuation of the first application. While the second application was pending, but almost seven years after the original patent issued, Staats filed a third broadening reissue application in 2006, as a continuation of the second application. During prosecution of the third application, Staats added broadened claims in 2007. The examiner rejected the third application, finding that the new broadened claims were "not related in any way to what was covered in the original broadening reissue." The Board sustained the rejection. The Federal Circuit reversed. The first broadening reissue application was filed within the two-year limit; that is sufficient to satisfy the requirement.View "In re Staats" 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

On GE’s complaint, the International Trade Commission conducted an investigation and, rejecting the findings of an ALJ determined that GE's 039 patent was not invalid by reason of obviousness or written description, that variable speed wind turbines imported by Mitsubishi do not infringe any of GE's patents, and that the domestic industry requirement is not met as to any of the patents. The Commission concluded that the Tariff Act, 19 U.S.C. 1337, was not violated. The 039 patent subsequently expired. The Federal Circuit affirmed that the 221 patent is not infringed, but reversed the determination of no domestic industry as to the 985 patent, and remanded. View "Gen. Elec. Co. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n" 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

The technology involves prosthetic vascular grafts, fabricated from highly-expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, and used to bypass or replace blood vessels to assure adequate and balanced blood flow to particular parts of the body. The 135 patent application was filed in 1974, but the patent did not issue until 2002. The district court found that the patent had been willfully infringed and was not invalid for improper inventorship, anticipation, obviousness, or lack of written description, and awarded enhanced damages, attorneys' fees and costs, and an ongoing royalty. The Federal Circuit affirmed, finding substantial evidence to support the jury verdict. View "Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. v. W.L. Gore & Assocs., Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiff markets, under the name CRESTOR, a cholesterol-lowering drug, rosuvastatin calcium, a member of a class of drugs known as statins, and holds related patents, 314, 618, and 152. After filing its 2003 New Drug Application and obtaining FDA approval, the company complied with the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (Hatch-Waxman Act), notifying the FDA that those patents were among those it believed could be infringed by the unlicensed manufacture, use, or sale of rosuvastatin calcium to be published in the FDA's "Orange Book," 21 U.S.C. 355(b)(1). Defendants are generic pharmaceutical manufacturers that filed Abbreviated New Drug Applications with the FDA seeking to market generic rosuvastatin calcium. The district court ruled in favor of plaintiff in a case claiming infringement of the 314 patent. Plaintiff brought a second action, claiming that defendants' ANDA filings infringed the other patents. The district court dismissed. The Federal Circuit affirmed. Plaintiff failed to state a 35 U.S.C. 271(e)(2) claim based on defendants' existing ANDA filings, and claims premised on presumed future labeling amendments were not ripe for adjudication. View "AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, L.P. v Apotex Corp." on Justia Law

In an action under the Tariff Act, 19 U.S.C. 1337, the International Trade Commission found unfair trade practices based on infringement of Epson's U.S. patents by importation and sale of ink printer cartridges produced in China by Ninestar and imported into and sold in the U.S. by entities including Ninestar's subsidiaries, The Commission issued a general exclusion order, limited exclusion orders, and cease and desist orders. The Federal Circuit affirmed. Final Orders prohibited importation and sale of infringing cartridges, including cartridges in the inventory of U.S. subsidiaries. Subsidiaries continued to import and sell cartridges that were subject to the orders. An Administrative Law Judge determined that Ninestar was in violation and levied a penalty under 19 U.S.C. 1337(f)(2). The Commission reduced the penalty. The Federal Circuit affirmed, finding Ninestar China jointly and severally liable for the penalty ($55,000 per day, a total of $11,110,000) along with the U.S. subsidiaries. Ninestar was aware that refurbishing and reselling spent cartridges, not first sold in the U.S., would be patent infringement View "Ninestar Tech. Co., Ltd. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n" on Justia Law