Archive for June, 2018

Patent Eligibility Guidance Update: Vanda memorandum

Monday, June 18th, 2018

The USPTO has posted its memorandum to the examining corps following the Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. West-Ward Pharmaceuticals decision.  The memorandum is available [here].

The Federal Circuit decision is available [here].

The oral argument at the Federal Circuit is available below:

Oral Argument of the Month: St. Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals

Monday, June 11th, 2018

The Federal Circuit heard oral argument in St. Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals last week.  The oral argument focuses on whether tribal sovereign immunity applies to IPR proceedings.  The panel consists of Judges Dyk, Moore, and Reyna. You can listen to the oral argument here:

I will add some sound bites in the future, if time permits.

Shotgun!

Thursday, June 7th, 2018

In the last few weeks, the Federal Circuit has been publishing opinions via its web site that include a date that follows the case name.  You can see some examples below:

The dates tend to be one or two working days before the opinions are released to the public.  So, they are not actually the date of the opinions.  The Federal Circuit has not published any explanation on its web site for this new procedure.  My best guess is that perhaps it reflects the date that the opinions are submitted to the clerk’s office.  And, perhaps the dates are intended to be one mode of precedential tie-breaker, if two opinions are released officially on the same day but with opposing viewpoints on an issue.  See Patently-O, “Priority of Precedent: When Same-Day Federal Circuit Opinions are in Tension” [Link].

Update June 19, 2018:

Curiously, the Federal Circuit is now publishing the list of cases without dates.  And, the court has removed the dates that were previously listed.  So, we are back to the old system.

Video of Judge O’Malley sitting by designation with the 9th Circuit

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

Judge O’Malley also sat by designation with the 9th Circuit in 2017.  You can watch a video of one of the oral arguments below (Altera v. CIR).  From what I could glean, the case deals with taxation issues concerning cost sharing arrangements for the development of intangible property.