Topic
Every decision we've filed under Intellectual Property.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court's award of over $319,000 in attorney's fees and costs to Berkshire Hathaway Automotive following the plaintiff's unsuccessful copyright infringement suit. The appellate court held that the lower court did not abuse its discretion when weighing the relevant factors under the governing legal standard.
The Third Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction, holding that Janssen failed to demonstrate irreparable harm because monetary damages remain calculable despite market complexities. The court clarified that loss of market share in a breach of contract case does not automatically constitute irreparable injury absent proof that damages are practically impossible to quantify.
The Federal Circuit granted an unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss an appeal regarding patent trial proceedings. The court dismissed the case without addressing the merits, leaving the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's prior decisions in place.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidity of a patent under the pre-AIA on-sale bar, holding that a third-party sale of a device embodying the invention more than one year before the priority date renders the claims invalid regardless of whether the invention's details were publicly disclosed. The court further clarified that source code commands are not hearsay at summary judgment because they constitute instructions rather than statements of fact.
The Federal Circuit reversed summary judgment of noninfringement, holding that the district court erred by importing unrecited limitations into patent claims and misinterpreting a pretrial stipulation regarding U.S. nexus. The court also affirmed the exclusion of one expert's damages theories but remanded the case for a new trial on infringement and damages consistent with corrected legal standards.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to invalidate challenged patent claims without issuing a written opinion. This per curiam judgment confirms that the patents remain unpatentable under the standards applied in inter partes review proceedings.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision upholding the validity of Almondnet's patent claims against Meta's challenges. The court found the Board's factual findings regarding obviousness were supported by substantial evidence in the administrative record.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision to invalidate Cisco Systems' patents in three inter partes review proceedings. The court held that substantial evidence supported the Board's factual findings that the challenged claims were obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a).
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's determination that Universal Electronics' patent claims were unpatentable as obvious. The court found substantial evidence that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine four prior art references to achieve the claimed method of adjusting appliance volume based on noise thresholds.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's determination that specific patent claims were invalid. This per curiam order confirms that the appellant failed to demonstrate clear error in the administrative record supporting the Board's findings.