» Patents

After many years of delays, a Unitary EU Patent and EU Patent Court may finally come into existence in 2022. According to the European Patent Office (EPO), the new system will offer users of the patent system a “cost-effective option for patent pro… Read More

What does the little word “a” mean in a patent application? It’s surprisingly unclear. In the recent case of Niz-Chavez v. Garland, US Supreme Court decided that “a” meant “one.” That might seem obvious, but the government in that case… Read More

The US Supreme Court has recently issued a decision on the doctrine of assignor estoppel – a rule that prevents patent owners that assign their patents from then challenging the validity of those patents. As the Court noted, In the late 1990s, Csab… Read More

All patents – and all patent applications – aren’t created equal. But how do you measure the quality of a patent or application? As a white paper from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office notes, It is often said that “you can’t manage… Read More

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it’s tantamount to defeat. The phrase originates from a quote from Pyrrhus of Epirus, whose triumph over the Romans in in 279 BCE destroyed most of his army. Ar… Read More

In a patent infringement action involving a long list of big-name defendants, a plaintiff learned that what you say to the Patent Office during the patent prosecution process can come back to haunt you in court when you try to enforce your patent rig… Read More

Intellectual property law is often thought of as something that protects “practical” things like machines, software, and medicines. But it can also protect elements of fashion. Following is a brief discussion of some of the types of intellectual… Read More

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has reversed a rejection of a patent application for using an open-ended numerical range in a claim. The matter of Ex Parte Qiu (Appeal 2020-001512) involves a patent application for a chemical compound (shown… Read More