Commercial Success

August 30, 2023
Photograph of a doctor holding a syringe full of an injectable filler

US Court Rules That Free Samples Don’t Count Towards Commercial Success

Fed. Cir. 2021-2063, 2021-2065: Sales of a product can be used to prove the inventiveness of a patent, but a US court warns that free samples are not relevant to patentability.
June 20, 2017

FC Finds Torque Anchor Patents Invalid or Not Infringed and Violation of Section 7(a) of Trade-marks Act

2016 FC 1279 - The FC found that API violated section 7(a) of the Trade-marks Act by making false or misleading statements tending to discredit the business, goods, or services of Excalibre, when it sent cease and desist letters to some of Excalibre’s customers.
November 28, 2016

Patent Appeal Board Rejects Waste-Disposal Film Dispensing Cassette for Obviousness and Lack of Novelty

PAB 1392 - Patent applicants should be wary of relying solely on evidence of commercial success to avoid rejection on the grounds of obviousness, as factors such as marketing may be found to be the actual reason for the success.