The Technology & Information Law Blog
Analysis by Charles Gideon Korrell
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Inc. v. Safe Foods Corp., Case No. 24-2160 (Fed. Cir May 4, 2026), adds another important chapter to the growing body of indefiniteness law applying Nautilus to “terms of approximation” such as “about,” “approximately,” and “substantially.” In a precedential opinion authored by Judge Lourie, the court…
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The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Constellation Designs, LLC v. LG Electronics Inc., Case No. 24-1822 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 28, 2026) provides an important new roadmap for evaluating software and communications patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The opinion draws a sharp distinction between claims that merely recite a desired optimization result and claims directed…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in International Medical Devices, Inc. v. Cornell, Case No. 25-1580 -1605 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 17, 2026), provides an important reminder that trade secret law cannot be used to reclaim ideas already placed into the public domain through patents. The dispute arose out of the highly specialized and somewhat unusual market for…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Teva Pharmaceuticals International GmbH v. Eli Lilly and Company, Case No. 24-1094 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 16, 2026), marks one of the most important post-Amgen v. Sanofi patent decisions involving antibody claims and Section 112. In a unanimous opinion authored by Chief Judge Prost, the court reversed a district court judgment…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation, Case No. 24-1772 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 14, 2026), is a significant reminder that procedural decisions made early in patent litigation can later become outcome determinative. In a partially precedential opinion authored by Chief Judge Moore, the court reversed multiple summary judgment rulings that had…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Fuente Marketing Ltd. v. Vaporous Technologies, LLC, Case No. 24-1460 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 8, 2026), offers a useful reminder that trademark disputes are not scored by tallying factors. Even where most of the DuPont factors favor likelihood of confusion, a sufficiently strong distinction between the marks themselves can still control…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in ironSource Ltd. v. Digital Turbine, Inc., Case No. 24-1460 (Fed Cir. Apr. 8, 2026), offers a pointed reminder that success at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board does not guarantee access to appellate review. For companies that regularly use post-grant proceedings as part of a broader patent strategy, the case…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Fortress Iron, LP v. Digger Specialties, Inc., Case No. 24-2313 (Fed. Cir. Apr 2, 2026), addresses a deceptively simple but practically significant question: what happens when everyone agrees a patent omitted a true inventor—but that inventor cannot be found? The answer is unforgiving. If the omitted inventor cannot be joined…
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There is a quiet but persistent tension in patent litigation involving the ITC: the statute promises efficiency, but the structure invites gamesmanship. Section 1659 is supposed to prevent duplicative litigation by forcing district courts to stand down when the same issues are being litigated at the ITC. But that protection is not automatic—it must be…