Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:
- a blog post arguing that in a recent case “the Federal Circuit was wrong in affirming the district court’s refusal to enhance damages”;
- a piece likening the current U.S. patent system to the Titanic, asserting it is “fast approaching an iceberg with disaster imminent”;
- a report explaining how the Supreme Court recently “declined to hear a patent owner’s challenge of the court’s framework for analyzing potentially abstract ideas not eligible for patent protection”; and
- an article reporting how the Federal Circuit “has refused to revisit its decision forcing Teva Pharmaceuticals to delist certain inhaler patents from the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book.”
Dennis Crouch penned a blog post for PatentlyO arguing that in a recent case “the Federal Circuit was wrong in affirming the district court’s refusal to enhance damages.” Crouch contended “the Federal Circuit sidestepped the practical implications of the jury’s willfulness [finding], treating the verdict as a checkbox rather than a meaningful factual finding for enhanced damages.” For more information, check out the relevant opinion in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc.
Gene Quinn authored a piece for IP Watchdog likening the current U.S. patent system to the Titanic, asserting it is “fast approaching an iceberg with disaster imminent.” Quinn noted the current backlog of patent applications and noted the Federal Circuit’s 2021 opinion in Hyatt v. Hirshfeld, which “held that prosecution laches is presumed if it takes more than six years to obtain a patent.” For more information, check out the relevant opinion in Hyatt v. Hirshfeld.
Michael Shapiro filed a report for Bloomberg Law explaining how the Supreme Court recently “declined to hear a patent owner’s challenge of the court’s framework for analyzing potentially abstract ideas not eligible for patent protection.” Shapiro discussed how the petitioner unsuccessfully “argued that the Federal Circuit inappropriately enlarged the abstractness category of inventions considered ineligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act.” For more information, check out our coverage of Impact Engine, Inc. v. Google LLC.
Muireann Bolger wrote an article for Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review reporting how the Federal Circuit “has refused to revisit its decision forcing Teva Pharmaceuticals to delist certain inhaler patents from the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book.” Bolger discussed how the Federal Circuit rejecrted Teva’s request for en banc rehearing after a panel previously “clarified that only patents claiming the active ingredient of a drug are eligible for listing.” For more information, check out our summary of the panel opinion.