FedCircuitBlog

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• a blog post about the United States government’s statement of interest in the patent infringement case involving COVID-19 vaccines; and
• an article about the U.S. International Trade Commission “bann[ing] imports of video-streaming fitness devices made by Peloton Interactive Inc and iFit Inc.”

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• an article discussing Moderna’s claim “that Pfizer and BioNTech unlawfully copied Moderna’s inventions”;
• an article summarizing the Federal Circuit recent ruling “that ‘plain meaning’ [of patent claims] cannot be interpreted in a vacuum”; and
• a third article highlighting the Federal Circuit’s decision to allow Apple and several other tech companies to “continue to import and sell their smartphone devices.”

• Supreme Court Denies Patent Petitions on Arthrex, Eligibility – The U.S. Supreme Court denied petitions for certiorari in two cases coming out of the Federal Circuit: IYM Technologies LLC v. RPX Corporation and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and WhitServe LLC v. Donuts Inc.
• Amgen, GSK Urge Justices To Allow Patents On Genus Claims – A trio of amicus briefs filed on Monday urge the Supreme Court to grant Merck’s petition for certiorari and ensure that companies are able to patent genus claims.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Leader Moderna “Not Aware of Any Significant Intellectual Property Impediments” in Development of its Vaccine Despite Mixed Results at PTAB – As global leaders in COVID-19 vaccine development receive promising results from their clinical trials, the focus turns to whether legal intellectual property obstacles may impede vaccine distribution.  

Here’s the latest.

• Federal Circuit Says University Can’t Be Pulled Into Patent Suit – In Gensetix, Inc. v. Baylor College of Medicine, sovereign immunity protected a university from being an involuntary plaintiff in a patent suit, but the suit could still proceed without the patent owner.
• Moderna Loses Challenge to Arbutus Patent on Vaccine Technology – Moderna could appeal to the Federal Circuit after a loss that might create obstacles in developing a coronavirus vaccine.
• NFL Team Loses Race to the Trademark Office, but It Might Not Matter – Being first in line to trademark the Redskins’ new team name won’t matter without objective evidence of a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce at the time of filing

Here’s the latest.