Tag: patent law
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Netlist v. Micron: Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Obviousness Ruling, Leaves Extra-Petition Prior Art Question Open
The Federal Circuit’s precedential decision in Netlist, Inc. v. Micron Technology, Inc., No. 24-1707 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 2, 2026), affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s determination that all challenged claims of a computer-memory patent were obvious, while leaving unresolved an important question about how far the Board may rely on prior art that was…
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Exelixis v. MSN Labs: Federal Circuit Upholds Crystalline Salt Genus Under § 112 Written Description
The Federal Circuit’s precedential decision in Exelixis, Inc. v. MSN Laboratories Private Ltd., Case No. 25-1236 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 31, 2026), affirmed a bench-trial finding that patents claiming crystalline cabozantinib (L)-malate satisfied the written-description requirement even though the specification expressly characterized only two crystalline polymorphs. The court concluded that the chemical name and formula of…
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Constellation Designs v. LG: Federal Circuit Draws Section 101 Line Between Optimization Claims and Specific Signal Constellations
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Constellation Designs, LLC v. LG Electronics Inc., No. 24-1822 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 31, 2026), draws an unusually clear line under 35 U.S.C. § 101 between claiming a technological objective and claiming a particular technological implementation. The court held claims broadly covering signal constellations “optimized” for improved capacity patent ineligible, while…
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VDPP v. Volkswagen: Settlement Licenses Can Trigger Patent-Marking Consequences Under § 287
A patent owner that makes no products of its own can still lose pre-suit damages when its licensees sell unmarked patented products. In VDPP, LLC v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Case No. 24-2226 (Fed. Cir. August 19, 2026), the Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal of a patent-infringement action because VDPP could not plausibly allege compliance with…
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Nielsen v. TVision: Federal Circuit Links Claim Breadth to Analogous Art and Obviousness
The Federal Circuit’s decision in The Nielsen Company (US), LLC v. TVision Insights, Inc., Case No. 25-1371 (Fed. Cir. August 14, 2026), illustrates a recurring tension in patent law: the breadth that gives a patent claim commercial value can also make the claim more difficult to defend against prior art. Nielsen argued that prior art concerning…
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Range of Motion v. Armaid: Federal Circuit Declines to Rework Judge-Jury Roles in Design Patent Infringement
The Federal Circuit’s August 11, 2026 order denying panel rehearing and rehearing en banc in Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Company Inc., Case No. 23-2427 (Fed. Cir. August 11, 2026), leaves intact a precedential design patent decision that gives judges significant responsibility at two stages of infringement litigation. Courts may construe a design…
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Dental Monitoring v. Align: Federal Circuit Requires Written-Description Support for AIA Provisional Prior Art
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Dental Monitoring SAS v. Align Technology, Inc., Case No. 2025-1752 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 10, 2026), holds that a patent or published application cannot obtain the filing date of a provisional application for prior-art purposes under the America Invents Act merely because the provisional describes the subject matter being asserted as…
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Socket Solutions v. Import Global: Federal Circuit Demands Doctrinal Discipline Before Granting Preliminary Patent Injunctions
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Socket Solutions, LLC v. Import Global, LLC, Case No. 2025-1121 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 4, 2026), illustrates that preliminary patent injunctions do not alter the governing standards of claim construction or equitable relief. Because a preliminary injunction can remove products from the marketplace long before infringement has been finally adjudicated, courts…
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Board of Regents v. Boston Scientific: Federal Circuit Reverses Jury Verdict on Anticipation and the Meaning of “Fiber”
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Board of Regents of the University of Texas System v. Boston Scientific Corp., Case Nos. 2024-2062 and 2024-2063 (Fed. Cir. July 27, 2026), reverses a patent-infringement judgment involving drug-eluting coronary stents and illustrates how a jury verdict cannot survive when the asserted distinctions from the prior art are absent from…
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Ridge Corp. v. Kirk NationaLease: Federal Circuit Rejects Preliminary Injunction Based on Claim Construction and Speculative Harm
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Ridge Corp. v. Kirk NationaLease Co., Case No. 25-1254 (Fed. Cir. July 13, 2026), reverses a preliminary injunction against competing manufacturers of roll-up truck doors, holding that substantial questions of noninfringement and an inadequately supported claim of irreparable harm prevented the patent owner and its licensee from obtaining extraordinary pretrial…