Tag: Federal Circuit
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Range of Motion Prods v. Armaid: Narrow Design Patent Scope and the Growing Role of “Plainly Dissimilar”
On February 2, 2026, the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of non-infringement in Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Company Inc., No. 23-2427, reinforcing two increasingly important themes in design patent litigation: (1) aggressive narrowing of design patent scope through functionality-based claim construction, and (2) the continued willingness of courts to resolve infringement at…
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Sound View v. Hulu: Federal Circuit Requires Claimed Method Steps in a Specific Order
On January 29, 2026, the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Sound View Innovations, LLC v. Hulu, LLC, affirming summary judgment of noninfringement based on the required sequence of steps in a method claim. While the panel rejected the district court’s narrowing construction of “buffer,” it nonetheless held that the asserted claim required a specific…
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US Patent No. 7,679,637 v. Google: Federal Circuit Rejects Functional Claims Under Section 101
On January 22, 2026, the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a patent infringement complaint against Google at the pleading stage, holding that the asserted claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,679,637 are patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The decision reinforces a familiar theme in modern eligibility jurisprudence: claims drafted at a high level of…
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Barry v. DePuy Synthes: Federal Circuit Limits Daubert Exclusion of Patent Experts
On January 20, 2026, the Federal Circuit issued a significant decision clarifying the boundary between judicial gatekeeping under Daubert and the jury’s role as factfinder in patent infringement trials. In Barry v. DePuy Synthes Companies, the court reversed the exclusion of two key experts and vacated a judgment as a matter of law entered after…
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Wonderland v. Evenflo: Federal Circuit Reassesses Infringement, Injunction, and Willfulness
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Wonderland Switzerland AG v. Evenflo Company, Inc. (Dec. 17, 2025) delivers a sweeping reset across several familiar but frequently contested areas of patent law: doctrine of equivalents limits, claim construction discipline, permanent injunction standards, and the evidentiary threshold for willfulness. The court affirmed much of the jury’s infringement verdict, but…
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Coda Development v. Goodyear: Federal Circuit Wipes Out $64M Trade Secret Verdict
On December 8, 2025, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Northern District of Ohio’s judgment as a matter of law wiping out a $64 million jury verdict in Coda Development s.r.o. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No. 23-1880 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 8, 2025). The court concluded that no reasonable jury could have found Goodyear liable…
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Adnexus v. Meta: Federal Circuit Rejects Premature Claim Construction at Pleading Stage
On December 5, 2025, the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the dismissal of Adnexus Inc.’s v. Meta Platforms, Inc., holding that the district court prematurely resolved a claim construction dispute under the guise of Rule 12(b)(6) plausibility. The decision is a pointed reminder that, while courts retain flexibility at the pleadings stage, they may not…
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Seagen v. Daiichi Sankyo: Federal Circuit Reverses $41M Verdict on Written Description
The Federal Circuit’s December 2, 2025 decision in Seagen Inc. v. Daiichi Sankyo Co., No. 23-2424, continues a noticeable and consequential trend: the court’s growing willingness to overturn jury verdicts on written description and enablement grounds as a matter of law. In reversing a $41 million verdict and vacating findings of willful infringement, the panel…
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In re Gesture Technology: IPR Estoppel Stops at the PTAB Door, Not Ex Parte Reexamination
The Federal Circuit’s December 1, 2025 decision in In re Gesture Technology Partners, LLC, Appeal No. 2025-1075, delivers a clean and consequential message on two recurring pressure points in post-grant practice: the reach of inter partes review (IPR) estoppel under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(1), and the Patent Office’s authority to continue adjudicating validity in ex…
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Duke v. Sandoz: Federal Circuit Invalidates Genus Claim for Lack of Written Description
On November 18, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a significant written description decision in Duke University v. Sandoz Inc., reversing a jury verdict and holding claim 30 of U.S. Patent No. 9,579,270 invalid for lack of adequate written description. The opinion is a textbook application of the court’s “blaze marks” jurisprudence and a reminder that…