CAFC News Brief

This nonprecedential United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit opinion details the affirmation of a district court's summary judgment in favor of Seismic Bracing Co., LLC and Andrew Hinchman against SME Steel Contractors, Inc. and Core-Brace, LLC. The case involved multiple claims brought by SME Steel, including patent infringement related to buckling-restrained braces (BRBs), false a...

The core of the dispute revolves around U.S. Patent No. 8,900,294, owned by Colibri, which describes a method for implanting artificial heart valves with a "do-over" or recapture mechanism. Colibri accused Medtronic of inducing infringement of this patent through the use of Medtronic's "Evolut" heart valve products. The court ultimately reversed a lower court's decision, ruling that prosecution hi...

This case involves a dispute between Top Brand LLC ("Top Brand") and Cozy Comfort Company LLC ("Cozy Comfort"), competitors in the market for oversized hooded sweatshirts/wearable blankets. Cozy Comfort accused Top Brand of infringing its U.S. Design Patent No. D859,788 (the “D788 patent”) and two trademarks for “THE COMFY.” A jury initially found in favor of Cozy Comfort on both patent and tradem...

This patent infringement case between Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. was consolidated with a similar case against Mylan Laboratories Ltd. The core of the dispute centers on Janssen's U.S. Patent No. 9,439,906, which covers dosing regimens for long-acting injectable antipsychotic medications. The appeal specifically addresses the District Court's finding that Teva failed...

Egenera alleged that Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) infringed on its U.S. Patent No. 7,231,430, which pertains to automated deployment of virtual processing networks. The appellate court affirmed the district court's decisions, including the summary judgment of noninfringement for claims 1 and 5, and the denial of Egenera's post-trial motions regarding claims 3 and 7. Key issues involved t...

This nonprecedential opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit details an appeal in the case of Ball Metal Beverage Container Corporation v. Crown Packaging Technology, Inc. The core issue revolves around patent infringement, specifically concerning Crown's double seaming technology used in beverage cans. The district court had previously ruled that certain claims of ...

This nonprecedential opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit details an appeal by Quartz Auto Technologies LLC against Lyft, Inc. The core issue revolves around the interpretation of specific claim terms in two of Quartz's patents, the ’871 patent concerning remote automobile monitoring and correction, and the ’215 patent on managing information technology (IT) devi...

This nonprecedential opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit details a patent infringement appeal brought by Larry Golden against Google LLC. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Golden's amended complaint, which alleged Google infringed his patents related to a chemical/biological/radiological detector unit with a disabling locking system through it...

This case concerns the patent eligibility of U.S. Patent No. 7,773,588 B2 (the “’588 patent”), held by DirectPacket Research, Inc. ("directPacket"). The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment on the pleadings, concluding that the ’588 patent is directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea. Case summary: https://www.cafcnewsbriefs.com/post/directpacket-research-inc-v-polycom-inc-de...

The core of the dispute involves Optis's claims that Apple infringed on five of its standard-essential patents (SEPs) related to LTE technology, used in iPhones, iPads, and Watches. The court vacated earlier judgments on infringement and damages, mandating a new trial due to a non-unanimous jury verdict on infringement and the improper inclusion of an Apple-Qualcomm settlement agreement as evidenc...

The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's final judgment of false advertising under the Lanham Act and unfair competition under state law against ThermoLife International LLC, Ronald L. Kramer, and Muscle Beach Nutrition LLC (collectively, "Appellants" or "defendants"). The appellate court found that BPI Sports, LLC ("BPI" or "plaintiff") failed to prove the "literal falsity" e...

eligibility (Section 101), damages, infringement analysis, and IPR estoppel. These cases provide valuable guidance on the court's current thinking and strategic considerations for practitioners. Key takeaways include the paramount importance of the intrinsic record in claim construction, the continued challenges in establishing patent eligibility for software-related inventions, strict scrutiny of...

This case concerns the patent eligibility of United Services Automobile Association's (USAA) mobile check deposit technology, specifically U.S. Patent No. 10,402,638 ('638 patent). The Federal Circuit reversed the District Court's finding of patent eligibility, concluding that the asserted claim (claim 20 of the '638 patent) is directed to an abstract idea and lacks an inventive concept under 35 U...

Mitek Systems, Inc. (Mitek) appealed the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas's dismissal of its declaratory judgment action. This marks the second time this case has been before the Federal Circuit. In Mitek I (2022), the court vacated the initial dismissal and remanded for further proceedings. On remand, the district court again dismissed the action, finding a lack of subject-matter...

This case involves an appeal from the District Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (SXM), which found that Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V.'s (Fraunhofer) patent infringement claims were barred by the doctrine of equitable estoppel. The Federal Circuit reversed the District Court's decision, finding that there was a genuine disput...

The appeal centers on a decision from the District Court for the District of Delaware concerning the validity of a patent claim under the doctrine of obviousness-type double patenting (ODP). The court affirms the lower court's ruling, finding that claim 5 of one patent cannot be used as an ODP reference to invalidate claim 26 of another, citing a recent controlling decision in a similar case. The...

Alnylam alleged that Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, SPIKEVAX®, infringed on two of Alnylam's patents regarding cationic lipids used in mRNA delivery. The core issue on appeal is the claim construction of the term "branched alkyl" as it relates to a specific carbon atom's bonding within the lipid structure. The court analyzes the patent specification and prosecution history to determine if Alnylam act...

The case concerns a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Acufloor against EvenTile and FORPAC regarding two of Acufloor's patents related to tile leveling devices. The appeal specifically addresses challenges to the district court's construction of two claim terms. The Federal Circuit modified one claim construction, rejected the other, vacated the judgment of non-infringement, and remanded the...

This nonprecedential United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit opinion addresses an appeal from Stylwan IP Holding, LLC against Stress Engineering Services, Inc. following a judgment of noninfringement by the District Court for the Southern District of Texas. The dispute centers on Stylwan's six patents related to non-destructive systems for assessing material integrity, particularly...

The primary focus in this case is on whether the district court abused its discretion by allowing EcoFactor's damages expert to testify based on insufficient facts or data regarding prior lump-sum licenses, which the expert argued demonstrated an established per-unit royalty rate. The majority opinion reverses the district court's denial of Google's motion for a new trial on damages, finding the e...

This nonprecedential court opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concerns an appeal by Fintiv, Inc. against Apple Inc. regarding alleged infringement of a patent related to mobile wallets and associated software, termed "widgets." Fintiv had sued Apple, claiming that Apple's products using Apple Pay and Apple Wallet infringed on their patent. The core issue at the...

This nonprecedential appellate opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addresses Yoldas Askan's appeal of a district court's dismissal of his patent infringement lawsuit against FARO Technologies, Inc. The court affirms the district court's decision to dismiss the complaint with prejudice for failure to state a plausible claim, finding that Askan's pleadings were co...

This appeal concerns a preliminary injunction previously granted by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, which prevented Sun Pharmaceutical from launching its drug Leqselvi. The core of the dispute involves Incyte's claim of patent infringement related to its patent on deuterated ruxolitinib, a drug used to treat autoimmune disorders, and Sun Pharmaceutical's launch of...

IOENGINE is challenging a jury verdict from the District of Delaware that found certain claims of IOENGINE's patents related to portable devices invalid based on prior art. Specifically, IOENGINE appeals the finding that the DiskOnKey System, including its Firmware Upgrader, was in public use before the invention date, which invalidates their patents. IOENGINE also contested the district court's j...

The core of the dispute involves Avadel's product, Lumryz, and whether the district court correctly issued a permanent injunction preventing Avadel from engaging in certain activities related to it, specifically concerning its patent U.S. Patent 11,147,782. The appeals court addressed three distinct enjoined activities: initiating new clinical trials, offering open-label extensions in ongoing tria...