Obviousness

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Luv N’ Care, Ltd. and Nouri E. Hakim v. Lindsey Laurain and Eazy-PZ, LLC, Nos. 2022-1905, 2022-1970 (Fed. Cir. April 12, 2024) addressed several issues, including: (1) what evidence of litigation misconduct may support a finding of unclean hands, barring relief for related claims, (2) the appropriate legal analysis for finding a patent unenforceable due to inequitable conduct before the USPTO, (3) how to appropriately construe disputed facts underlying obviousness determinations at the summary judgment stage, and (4) the legal standard and timing for determinations of “prevailing party,” “exceptional case,” and “closeness” of the case, which underlie awards of attorney’s fees and costs.Continue Reading Federal Circuit Clarifies Requisite Analysis for Unclean Hands, Inequitable Conduct, Summary Judgement Determinations of Obviousness, and Awards of Fees and Costs

In a precedential decision, the Federal Circuit reaffirmed that the Patent Trial and Appeal’s Board (PTAB) is required to explicitly state motivations to combine prior-art references in claim rejections for obviousness.  Rejections that rely on mere statements that a person of ordinary skill in the art reading the prior-art references would understand that the combination would have allowed for claimed features is not enough.
Continue Reading You’re So Vague: Federal Circuit Sends IPR Decision Back to PTAB for More Thorough Analysis

A patentee may bring patent infringement claims against the United States government pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1498, in which Congress waived the sovereign immunity of the United States against such claims.  Patent infringement actions against the government are similar to those brought against non-governmental entities, but they do have some idiosyncrasies. For example, patent owners can only sue the government for infringement in the United States Court of Federal Claims, as opposed to a district court, and jury trials are not available in the Court of Federal Claims.
Continue Reading Suing The United States Government For Patent Infringement And Defending Against A Claim Of Obviousness