Patent Law

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By Audrey Millemann

            The number of patent infringement cases filed in the United States has increased dramatically over the last ten years or so, and we can expect to see that trend continue. One reason is that the number of patents issued is increasing, and many of those patents, particularly business methods patents, are viewed with suspicion by the high-tech industry. Another reason is that businesses are investing more time and money into intellectual property assets and the loss of those assets could cost the business greatly. 

What is patent infringement? Anyone who makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells in the United States, or imports into the United States, a patented invention, without authority from the patent owner, infringes a utility patent. The prerequisite is an issued (not pending or expired) U. S. patent. No intent is required. The patent is infringed if any of the above acts are committed in the United States. An infringer cannot, for example, avoid liability by moving a manufacturing operation outside the United States where the product is sold within the United States. Likewise, a manufacturer of a product made in the United States infringes the patent even if the product is only sold outside the United States. Continue Reading Patent Infringement 101

By Audrey A. Millemann

United States courts should not adjudicate rights under foreign patents, according to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. In an interesting case, the court was divided over whether a district court could decide infringement of a foreign patent. Voda v. Cordis Corporation, 476 F.3d 887 (February 1, 2007).

The plaintiff, Voda, owned several U.S. and foreign patents covering guiding catheters used in interventional cardiology. The plaintiff sued defendant, Cordis Corporation, a U.S. entity, in the Western District of Oklahoma for infringement of three U.S. patents. Cordis denied infringement and alleged invalidity.Continue Reading U.S. Courts Should Not Decide Foreign Patent Infringement

By Audrey Millemann

        The Supreme Court has expanded the rights of licensees to challenge the validity of the patents being licensed and the terms of their licenses. In MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 127 S.Ct. 764 (January 9, 2007), the Court addressed the question of whether a licensee of a patent was required to terminate or breach the license in order to obtain a declaratory of judgment of invalidity, unenforceability, or noninfringement. Continue Reading Supreme Court: Licensees Can Sue for Invalidity

By Audrey Millemann

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has resolved a conflict in its precedents regarding the inducement of patent infringement, and, as a result, made the plaintiff’s burden heavier. In DSU Medical Corporation v. JMS Company, 471 F.3d 1293 (Fed. Cir. December 13, 2006), the court resolved the differences between its prior interpretations of 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) as set forth in Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb, Inc., 909 F.2d 1464 (Fed. Cir. 1990) and Manville Sales Corp. v. Paramount Systems, Inc., 917 F.2d 544 (Fed. Cir. 1990). Continue Reading Inducing Patent Infringement Becomes More Difficult to Prove

By Scott Cameron

Rambus, Inc., applied for, and later received, several patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office related to computer memory chips. A patent is generally thought of as conferring the patent holder with a legal monopoly over the patented subject. The patent holder owns the subject to the exclusion of all others. So how is it that, in a unanimous decision, the Federal Trade Commission recently found that the monopoly achieved by Rambus’ patent violated federal antitrust laws?

Continue Reading Rambus Inc.: FTC Finds That Valid Patent Acquisition Can Amount To A Violation Of Antitrust Laws.