Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:
- an article discussing how the “Federal Circuit h[eld] [that a] pre-critical date letter is [a] [c]ommercial offer for sale, triggering on-sale bar”;
- a blog post asserting that the “Federal Circuit needs to clarify that CalTech Estoppel applies only to claims challenged via [inter partes review]”;
- an article noting how “in-person arguments return to D.C.’s Federal Circuit as Omicron fades”; and
- another article announcing the “2022 IP Outlook Report: the developments shaping trademark law.”
Clyde Shuman wrote an article published by Lexology explaining how, in Junker v. Medical Components, Inc., the Federal Circuit “held that a pre-critical date letter sent in response to a request for quotation and containing detailed bulk pricing information for products containing a patented design . . . constituted a commercial offer for sale of a claimed design.” This, the article explained, “trigger[ed] the on-sale bar under 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)” and led the Federal Circuit to “revers[e] a district court grant of summary judgment of no invalidity on that basis.”
Dennis Crouch authored a blog post for PatentlyO discussing how the “Federal Circuit needs to clarify that CalTech Estoppel applies only to claims challenged via [inter partes review].” Crouch noted that “[e]stoppel is a huge consideration of accused infringers as they consider how to structure their inter partes review (IPR) petition(s)” and how “these are all multi-million-dollar cases.”
Blake Brittain filed an article with Reuters explaining how “in-person arguments return to D.C.’s Federal Circuit as Omicron fades.” Brittain went on to say that “[t]he patent-focused U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit announced Tuesday that it would return to live oral arguments in March as Omicron cases ease, after two months of remote hearings due to high COVID-19 case counts.”
The National Law Review published an article highlighting its release of the “2022 IP Outlook Report: the developments shaping trademark law.”