Last Month at the Federal Circuit
Last Month at the Federal Circuit

July 2011

Supreme Court Highlights
Bayh-Dole Act Does Not Automatically Vest Title to Federally Funded Inventions in Federal Contractors

[Appealed from Fed. Cir.]

35 U.S.C. § 282 Requires That an Invalidity Defense Be Proved by Clear and Convincing Evidence, but a Jury May Be Instructed to Evaluate Whether the Evidence Before It Is Materially New
Stream of Commerce Analysis Does Not Support General Jurisdiction over a Foreign Corporation

[Appealed from N.C. Ct. App.]

No Personal Jurisdiction Exists over a Foreign Party Because Simply Placing Goods in the Stream of Commerce, Without More, Is Not an Act Purposefully Directed to the Forum State

[Appealed from N.J. Sup. Ct.]

Federal Circuit Cases
Accused Infringer Need Not Practice Steps Recited in the Preamble of a Method Claim When the Preamble Defines the Environment in Which the Claim Operates
[Appealed from E.D. Mo., Judge Perry]

Nonanalogous Prior Art Cannot Support an Obviousness Rejection
[Appealed from Board]

State of the Art Could Not Fill the Gaps in Disclosure for Written Description Support Where the Specifications Indicated Unpredictability and a Lack of Knowledge in the Art

[Appealed from D. Del., Judge Robinson]


Abbreviations  
ALJ Administrative Law Judge
ANDA Abbreviated New Drug Application
APA Administrative Procedures Act
APJ Administrative Patent Judge
Board Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
Commissioner Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
CIP Continuation-in-Part
DJ Declaratory Judgment
DOE Doctrine of Equivalents
FDA Food and Drug Administration
IDS Information Disclosure Statement
ITC International Trade Commission
JMOL Judgment as a Matter of Law
MPEP Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
NDA New Drug Application
PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty
PTO United States Patent and Trademark Office
SJ Summary Judgment
TTAB Trademark Trial and Appeal Board