In Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the patent holder bears the burden of proving infringement, even in a declaratory judgment action brought by a licensee. In reaching its decision, the Court dismissed concerns that it would skew the balance of power between patent holder and licensee, noting … Continue reading this entry Tags: Burden of Proof,Declaratory Judgment,Infringement,Medtronic,Mirowski
In MeadWestVaco Corp. v. Rexam Beauty and Closures, Inc., the Federal Circuit upheld the admissibility of expert testimony that was not fully aligned with the district court’s claim construction. In so doing, the court explained that deviations from the claim construction might impact the infringement determination, but did not render the evidence irrelevant as a … Continue reading this entry Tags: Evidence,Expert Testimony,Infringement,MeadWestVaco,Rexam
In Cephalon, Inc. v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s finding that two Orange Book-listed patents for Cephalon’s FENTORA® product were invalid, but affirmed the district court’s finding that Watson’s ANDA product would not infringe the patents. The Federal Circuit decision reviews the “undue experimentation” standard for lack of enablement, and … Continue reading this entry Tags: ANDA,ANDA Litigation,Cephalon,Enablement,Fentora,Infringement,Watson
In AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP v. Apotex Corp., the Federal Circuit held that the district court had jurisdiction over AstraZeneca’s ANDA complaint, but also held that the complaint should be dismissed for failing to state a viable claim for relief because the ANDAs included Section viii statements that carved out the methods claimed in the patents … Continue reading this entry Tags: ANDA,AstraZeneca,Carve-Out,Crestor,Infringement,Jurisdiction,Paragraph IV,Section VIII
While most provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act do not take effect until September 16, 2012 or March 16, 2013, several litigation-related provisions took effect immediately, on September 16, 2011. Among those is the newly expanded prior commercial use defense, which includes terms that are directly relevant to the pharmaceutical industry.… Continue reading this entry Tags: Infringement,Leahy-Smith America Invents Act,Prior Commercial Use,Prior Use
This week brings two en banc hearings at the Federal Circuit. Inequitable conduct issues will be addressed in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., and contempt proceedings issues will be addressed in Tivo Inc. v. Echostar Corp. Both hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, November 9, at 10:00 am, in courtroom 201. Therasense, Inc. v. … Continue reading this entry Tags: Contempt,En Banc,Fraud,Inequitable Conduct,Infringement,Intent,Materiality,Unclean Hands
Can the doctrine of equivalents be invoked to establish infringement of a claim that recites a numerical value? Yes, according to the Federal Circuit’s decision in Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, Inc. v. Perrigo Co. Can the concept of significant digits be used to establish infringement? Although the court does not say so directly, its opinion indicates … Continue reading this entry Tags: Infringement,Mucinex
Posted in Infringement; Supreme Court Decisions