Today, the Federal Circuit granted a writ of mandamus, ordering the Eastern District of Texas to dismiss or transfer a case for lack of venue. This order is the latest in a series of Federal Circuit decisions, post-TC Heartland, where the Eastern District of Texas has tried to hold on to patent cases even when…
Blog Posts
Patents That Just. Keep. Going.
by Josh Landau •
Recently, a set of more than a dozen lawsuits was filed by an NPE. That wouldn’t really be news, most of the time—NPEs filed nearly 2,000 patent lawsuits in 2019. But there’s a few things that are a little different about this case. First and foremost, the patent goes back to a patent application filed…
U.S. Effort to Create 5G Huawei Alternative Potentially Vulnerable to SEP Patent Litigation
by Josh Landau •
Today’s Wall Street Journal reports on a White House plan to coordinate the development of 5G systems by American companies. The effort is intended to provide a domestic alternative to Huawei for 5G infrastructure hardware. But if the FTC loses in an appeal at the 9th Circuit this month, that White House plan might run…
Polaris Concurrence Explains Why Arthrex Was Wrong, But Signals Federal Circuit Won’t Fix It
by Josh Landau •
Today’s Federal Circuit decision in Polaris v. Kingston had an unsurprising outcome—in line with last year’s Arthrex decision, the PTAB’s determination was remanded back to the PTO for review in line with Arthrex. But while the decision was brief, the concurrence—authored by Judge Hughes and joined by Judge Wallach—was not. It explains, in detail, just…
Cross-Licenses, Royalty Stacking, and Patent Disputes
by Josh Landau •
While the majority of U.S. patent litigation is now NPE litigation (and has been since at least 2009), litigation between operating companies continues to occur at roughly the same rate as it has for the past 20 years. (So much for the idea that IPR or eBay destroyed the ability for patent owners to enforce…
Announcing the 2020 Patent Progress Writing Competition
by Josh Landau •
We are pleased to announce the 2020 Patent Progress writing competition. This competition, open to current law students, solicits scholarship regarding patent law. This year’s general topic is new issues in patent law and policy related to the trend towards complex multi-component products. Examples of such issues include apportionment of damages, the smallest saleable patent…
USPTO, DoJ, and NIST Issue FRAND/SEP Policy Statement
by Josh Landau •
Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Justice, and National Institute of Standards and Technology issued a joint statement on standard-essential patents (SEPs). The statement clarifies the agencies’ position on an earlier 2013 statement made by USPTO and DoJ while completing the process of formally withdrawing from that statement. In essence,…
Patent Links and Articles to Read by the Fire
by Josh Landau •
With the holiday season upon us, there’s nothing better than to curl up by the fire with a hot cup of tea and a stack of patent-related articles. Here’s a few you might want to take a look at.
New Bill May Lead To Overly Aggressive Blocking Of Goods At Border
by Josh Landau •
A new bill, introduced by Sens. Coons, Tillis, Hirono, and Cassidy, would give Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers the authority to seize goods at the border if they involve design patent violations. Customs already has this authority for goods that violate copyrights or trademarks. But design patents work differently. Trying to use the same…
As 9th Circuit Prepares For Argument, Korean Fine Against Qualcomm Upheld
by Josh Landau •
Qualcomm’s appeal of the FTC’s success in district court continues to move forward, with the second set of amicus briefs (including CCIA’s) filed the week of Thanksgiving. Qualcomm’s reply brief is due by Friday, December 13th, and oral argument is scheduled for February 13th, 2020. Judge Koh found that Qualcomm had abused its dominant position…