Category Archives: Federal Circuit Court of Appeals

Federal Circuit Finds That States’ Patents Are Subject To IPRs, Rejecting Sovereign Immunity Defense

On June 14, 2019, the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Regents of the University of Minnesota v. LSI Corp. (available here). The Federal Circuit found that “state sovereign immunity does not apply to” inter partes review proceedings, as the … Continue reading

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Federal Circuit to RPX: “In IPR, You Only Get One Shot”

As Eminem once said, “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” On January 17, 2018, the Federal Circuit similarly told RPX in RPX Corp. v. Chanbond (available … Continue reading

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Judge Posner Gets It Wrong On Patents: A Patent Doesn’t Give Anyone The Right To Practice The Invention

I had lunch the other day with an attorney who said that, when he was in law school, ol’ Learned Hand was the judge whose cases you were most often likely to read. I remember only one of Hand’s cases, … Continue reading

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What Business Does the Seventh Circuit Have Opining On Patent Law?

The other day, I came across the Seventh Circuit’s decision in ABS Global v. Genus PLC (available here) and nearly fell out of my chair. While I knew a non-Federal Circuit appellate court could have jurisdiction over a case involving … Continue reading

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Federal Circuit Upholds District Court Attorney-Fee Award Premised On Unjustified Infringement Position, Where Patent Was Invalidated

On May 1, 2019, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion (available here) in Thermolife v. GNC Corp. In an unusual fact pattern, the district court invalidated the plaintiffs’ patent and then imposed a Section 285 attorney-fee award (for $1.3 million) … Continue reading

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CCRG Partner Anthony Garza Prevails In Two Cases At Federal Circuit Within Three Weeks

Congratulations are in order to CCRG partner Anthony Garza, who prevailed at the Federal Circuit in two cases within three weeks of each other. In the first case, Anthony obtained reversal of an adverse district-court summary judgment decision (and an … Continue reading

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Federal Circuit Finds That Demand Letters Are Now Sufficient To Create Personal Jurisdiction In District Where Demand Letters Are Received

On December 7, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Jack Henry & Associates v. Plano Encryption Technologies (available here). Jack Henry and eleven Texas banks (collectively, the “Banks”) appealed Judge Godbey’s order dismissing their declaratory judgment action against … Continue reading

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Voluntary Dismissal of Lawsuit Without Prejudice Triggers 1 Year IPR Bar Date

35 U.S.C. § 315(b) provides that an inter partes review “may not be instituted if the petition requesting the proceeding is filed more than 1 year after the date on which the petitioner . . . is served with a … Continue reading

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Federal Circuit Sees Through Purchase of Tribal Sovereign Immunity, Finds that Tribes Cannot Assert Sovereign Immunity in Inter Partes Reviews

In Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan (decision available here), the Federal Circuit rejected Allergen’s attempt to purchase sovereign immunity from an Indian tribe—i.e., Allergen paid millions of dollars to an Indian tribe to allow the tribe to own Allergen’s … Continue reading

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Federal Circuit Deems “Bare Bones” Complaint Sufficient Under Iqbal and Twombly

Ever since Twombly, Iqbal, and the abrogation of Form 18, patent-infringement plaintiffs have generally been filing detailed complaints showing how the defendant purportedly infringes the plaintiff’s patents. Not the plaintiff in Disc Disease Solutions v. VGH Solutions. In that case … Continue reading

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