Prior Art

November 16, 2023
Photograph of a hand holding a lucky four-leaf clover

Will the Third Time Be the Charm in This Design Patent Saga?

Fed. Cir. No. 2021-2299, 2021-2338: This is the second time the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a finding of infringement and sent the design patent back to lower courts.
March 26, 2021
Photograph of an oil and gas pump.

Federal Court Applies Its Own Claim Construction to Infringement Case

2021 FC 85: The Federal Court upheld the validity of all claims, but found that PetroChina was not infringing Maoz Betser-Zilevitch's patent for an SAGD.
March 3, 2021
Model of a human brain photographed in an anatomy lab.

A Closer Look: CAFC Finds Immersion Photography Claims Are Obvious

Fed Cir, 2019-1927: The CAFC overturned a finding of non-obviousness by the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board on a patent owned by Melanoscan, LLC.
March 9, 2020
Photograph of an IV drip delivering a pharmaceutical to a patient in a hospital.

Contested Remicade Patent Will Head Back to Court in June

2020 FCA 30; 2020 FCA 31 – Janssen and Celltrion will return to court in June after the FCA overturned a lower court decision regarding a Remicade patent.
November 14, 2019
Photo of the interior of an airplane cabin, showing a row of seats.

Airbus Gets Another Shot at Patent for “Breathable Fire-Preventative” Air

Fed. Cir. 2019-1803 – CAFC sides with Airbus, finding that prior art references may be analogous even if they are outside the "field of endeavour."
May 7, 2019
Abstract three-dimensional design resembling building blocks

Federal Circuit Reins in Impossible Standards for Antedating Prior Art

Fed. Cir., 2016-2222 - CAFC affirms that a patent may be successfully defended if the patent holder can prove that the invention was conceived prior to any similar prior art.
January 23, 2019

SCOTUS Finds That Secret and Mere Existence of Sales May Invalidate Patents

586 U.S. ___ (2019) SCOTUS affirms CAFC's decision holding that if the existence of the sale is public, the invention does not need to be publicly disclosed to fall within the AIA’s on-sale bar.