The Technology & Information Law Blog
Analysis by Charles Gideon Korrell
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in TrackTime, LLC v. Amazon.com Services LLC, Case No. 2024-1102 (Fed. Cir. July 2, 2026), clarifies how courts must determine whether software claim language invokes means-plus-function treatment under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), particularly when a claim recites “executable program code” configured to perform specified operations. The court vacated a judgment that…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Hetero Labs Limited, Case No. 2025-2016 (Fed. Cir. July 1, 2026), upheld a preliminary injunction delaying the launch of a generic version of Nuedexta but vacated the district court’s decision allowing the patent owner to obtain that injunction without posting security under Federal Rule of…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2025-1427 (Fed. Cir. June 23, 2026), holds that a later patent cannot claim the filing date of a provisional application when the provisional expressly discloses a different chemical range, even if the applicant contends that the difference resulted from a typographical error.…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Ironburg Inventions Ltd. v. Valve Corp., Case No. 2024-2088 (Fed. Cir. June 18, 2026), limits when a patent owner may use inter partes review estoppel to prevent an accused infringer from asserting prior-art invalidity grounds in district court. The court held that a reference is not necessarily discoverable merely because…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Hafeman v. Google LLC, Case No. 24-1600 (Fed. Cir. Jun. 5, 2026) addresses three recurring issues in inter partes review practice: the scope of appellate review under 35 U.S.C. § 314(d), the limits of claim construction arguments raised after PTAB proceedings have concluded, and the evidentiary burden required to establish…
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A Significant Win for Generic Drug Manufacturers The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., Case No. 24-889 (Jun. 4, 2026), is one of the most important patent law decisions of the 2025-2026 Term. While the case arises from the pharmaceutical industry’s unique Hatch-Waxman framework, its significance extends well…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Ollnova Technologies Ltd. v. ecobee Technologies ULC , Case No. 25-1045 (Fed. Cir. Jun. 4, 2026 ), delivers several significant holdings for patent litigators and technology companies. The opinion addresses jury unanimity in multi-patent trials, the proper role of juries in patent eligibility disputes under Section 101, and the distinction…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in AGI SureTrack LLC v. Farmers Edge Inc. , Case Nos. 2024-1730, 2024-1830 (Fed. Cir. June 2, 2026), reinforces the limits of patent eligibility for claims directed to collecting, analyzing, and transmitting farming data using conventional computer components. The court affirmed summary judgment that the asserted claims were ineligible under 35…
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The Federal Circuit’s decision in Insulet Corp. v. EOFlow, Co. Ltd., Case No. 25-1807 (Fed. Cir. May 28, 2026), arrives just days after the court’s major trade secret decision in Versata v. Ford, continuing what is becoming a significant period of doctrinal development under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”). While Versata focused heavily on…
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The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Versata Software, LLC v. Ford Motor Co., Case Nos. 24-1140, -1206, -1234 (Fed. Cir. May 22, 2026), may become one of the most important trade secret damages opinions in recent years. In a significant rebuke to the district court’s narrow approach to damages, the court held that a trade…