Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:
- a post highlighting how “[s]everal amici have weighed in this week on a petition challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) recession of former USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s guidance on discretionary denial”;
- an article examining the “courtroom showdown over President Trump’s tariffs” and how “it could still take a lot longer to permanently settle the legal question of whether the president has the authority to impose his wide-ranging tariffs”;
- a piece discussing how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is “adding an image search tool . . . to existing tools for utility patent examiners” to expand “how artificial intelligence is used in patent examination”; and
- an article covering how “Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. convinced the Federal Circuit to temporarily block MSN Pharmaceuticals Inc. from launching a generic version of blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto while the two sides contest the need for a lengthier pause.”
Eileen McDermott published a post on IP Watchdog highlighting how “[s]everal amici have weighed in this week on a petition challenging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) recession of former USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s guidance on discretionary denial.” McDermott wrote that, while one group “urged the CAFC to grant mandamus relief,” other groups support denial of the petition. Those supporting denial, she said, argue that “the USPTO should have broad discretion to deny institution of IPR” and that “Vidal’s memo was only interim guidance until a formal rule was promulgated.” Notably, while several groups have moved the court for leave to file amicus briefs, as of this writing the court has not yet ruled on the motions. For more information, see the case page in In re SAP America, Inc.
Alexis Keenan authored an article for Yahoo Finance examining the “courtroom showdown over President Trump’s tariffs” and how “it could still take a lot longer to permanently settle the legal question of whether the president has the authority to impose his wide-ranging tariffs.” According to Keenan, legal and trade experts have said “[t]hese legal challenges to Trump’s escalating trade war don’t necessarily pose an immediate danger to Trump’s broader tariff plans.” These experts, Keenan said, have indicated “Trump could turn to other statutes that administration officials believe allow him to also act unilaterally” even if he loses the current cases on appeal at the Federal Circuit.
Ryan Davis penned a piece for Law360 discussing how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is “adding an image search tool . . . to existing tools for utility patent examiners” to expand “how artificial intelligence is used in patent examination.” According to Davis, Deputy Commissioner for Patents Karem M. Young said during a webinar on Wednesday that “the new DesignVision tool has been trained on tens of millions of images from design patent applications.” Davis noted how Young said “the office plans to train all design patent examiners on DesignVision in the coming months, and fully launch the tool in the next fiscal year.”
Michael Shapiro wrote an article for Bloomberg Law covering how “Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. convinced the Federal Circuit to temporarily block MSN Pharmaceuticals Inc. from launching a generic version of blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto while the two sides contest the need for a lengthier pause.” According to Shapiro, “[a]n FDA exclusivity period that was tied to a separate Novartis patent ended on July 15,” which would have allowed MSN to begin selling its generic version on Wednesday. Shapiro reported on how the Federal Circuit issued “an unsigned order” on Tuesday stating “[t]he two sides must complete briefing by July 21 on Novartis’ motion for a longer stay that would last until the appeal is decided.”