David Jones is the Executive Director of the High Tech Inventors Alliance, an association that advocates for balanced reforms in the Patent and Trademark Office, the courts, and Congress that address the root causes of these problems while advancing a patent system that promotes investment in new technologies and American jobs. Over the past decade,…
Blog Posts
Patent Quality Week: Public Interest Patents, The AIA At Ten, And More
by Josh Landau •
This week marks the first annual Patent Quality Week. Low quality patents can have huge negative impacts on business sectors from Main Street retailers to Silicon Valley startups, and everywhere in between. Coordinated by Engine, a policy advocate for startups, Patent Quality Week includes a number of events focused on patent quality and how it…
The ITC In 2020: Anything But Typical
by Josh Landau •
With the American republic having just had its 245th birthday, let’s take a look at an agency that’s charged with regulating trade with foreign countries, encouraging American industries, and protecting American labor. I’ve previously criticized the International Trade Commission (ITC) for having gone from being a trade court protecting U.S. domestic industry to being a…
Arthrex Is Here—What Will It Mean?
by Josh Landau •
Yesterday, the Supreme Court handed down its much-awaited decision—at least, much-awaited by people who care about patents and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)—in the consolidated U.S. v Arthrex, Arthrex v. Smith & Nephew, and Smith & Nephew v. Arthrex cases. And while the multiple parties and multiple opinions might look complicated, it’s actually…
Moving The USPTO From Red To Black
by Josh Landau •
IBM is famous for obtaining a lot of patents. Year after year, they’re the top recipient of U.S. patents (or, once in a while, in second place when you account for related entities.) But they’re also infamous among patent practitioners for abandoning a lot of patents after they issue. Like, a lot of patents. IBM…
Despite Patentee Protestations, It Isn’t Expertise That’s Bringing Plaintiffs to Waco
by Josh Landau •
The meteoric rise of the Waco Division’s patent caseload is widely understood to be due to plaintiff-friendly policies on scheduling, transfer, and motions to dismiss. But recently, some patentees have taken a different tack. They’ve claimed that the reason cases are headed there is because litigants want to take advantage of Judge Albright’s experience as…
Federal Circuit Nominee: Judges Should Judge The Cases They Have, Not Seek Cases They Want To Judge
by Josh Landau •
Tiffany Cunningham, President Biden’s nominee to the Federal Circuit—the first nominee to that court in six years—is incredibly well qualified to join the bench of the court she once clerked for. She’s spent her career litigating patent cases for plaintiffs and defendants, working on high-tech and life sciences cases, and she’s universally well-respected by all…
An IDEA Whose Time Has Come
by Josh Landau •
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up the IDEA Act. IDEA, sponsored by Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), stands for “Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement.” One of the problems with researching diversity and patents, much less diversity and innovation, is that there isn’t good data on who invents—there are all kinds of proxy metrics that…
World IP Day: Promoting Progress
by Josh Landau •
Cross-posted on the Disruptive Competition Project. Today, April 26, is World Intellectual Property Day. And in the U.S., Congress is granted the power to create copyrights and patents—two key forms of intellectual property—in the Constitution. Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, grants Congress the power to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by…
Discretionary Denials at the PTAB Continue to Rise, Benefit NPEs
by Josh Landau •
According to new data from Unified Patents, the rise in discretionary denials at the PTAB is showing no signs of slowing down. In 2019, there were 6 denials based on co-pending litigation (so-called § 314(a) or Fintiv denials). In these denials, the PTAB decides not to institute an inter partes review based primarily on related…