Experience
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and Archer Daniels Midland Co.
Synvina C.V.
In an appeal from inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, Finnegan successfully persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to reverse the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)’s decision that patent claims challenged by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) would not have been obvious. The patent, owned by DuPont and ADM’s competitor Synvina C.V., is directed to methods of producing the chemical FDCA, which is an important building block in the green chemical industry.
The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB erred by refusing to apply the burden-shifting framework applicable in cases where the process parameters disclosed in the prior art overlap with those claimed in a challenged patent. This was an issue of first impression in the IPR context. Furthermore, the court held that, contrary to the Board’s analysis, two process parameters—reaction temperature and oxygen partial pressure—were “result-effective variables” because the prior art recognized that those variables affected the claimed process for making FDCA. The court concluded that, under the correct obviousness framework, DuPont and ADM presented “a strong case of obviousness” and that all the challenged claims would have been obvious over “very close prior art and weak evidence of nonobviousness.”
The Federal Circuit also rejected Synvina’s challenge to DuPont and ADM’s standing to pursue the appeal. The court held that DuPont and ADM had standing in part because they compete with Synvina in the FDCA field and are currently operating a demonstration plant capable of operating under conditions within the ranges claimed in Synvina’s patent.
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. v. Synvina C.V., 17-1977, Fed. Cir.
Inter partes reexamination ruling affirmed in favor of Finnegan client DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours
Federal Circuit reverses ITC finding in favor of Finnegan client John Mezzalingua Associates
John Mezzalingua Associates, Inc.
MacDermid Printing Solutions, LLC v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
Jury decision upheld by Federal Circuit for DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials
DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, LLC
Eli Lilly and Company
Federal Circuit vacates IPR rulings in two appeals in favor of Finnegan client PPC Broadband
PPC Broadband
Finnegan revives key Jublia® patent at the Federal Circuit
Kaken Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Bausch Health Care
DuPont prevails on a written description defense to patent infringement at the Federal Circuit
DuPont Nutrition Biosciences APS
Due to international data regulations, we’ve updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our privacy policy in full.
We use cookies on this website to provide you with the best user experience. By accepting cookies, you agree to our use of cookies. Please note that if you opt not to accept or if you disable cookies, the “Your Finnegan” feature on this website will be disabled as well. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
Finnegan is thrilled to announce the launch of our new blog, Ad Law Buzz, devoted solely to breaking news, developments, trends, and analysis in advertising law.