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IPWatchdog, Inc IPWatchdog is the leading authority on patents and innovation policy in the U.S. In 2014 we were also inducted into the ABA Blawg Hall of Fame.

IPWatchdog.com has been online since 1999 and has provided information and news regarding intellectual property to many tens of millions of unique visitors. This page is open to all, but is intended to provide a platform to meet others who are interested in intellectual property topics including patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, business and the Internet.

“With the social media ad spend on track soon to overtake all other forms of advertising, including TV, we are likely ...

07/05/2019

Spilling the 'Detox Tea': Are We About to See More FTC Action on Social Media Influencer Advertising?

“With the social media ad spend on track soon to overtake all other forms of advertising, including TV, we are likely to see increased scrutiny from the FTC to ensure upfront, clear disclosures of any paid content.” In a recent letter, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against makers of “detox teas” for engaging in “predatory” and misleading marketing tactics on social media platforms, targeting primarily young adults (and young women in particular). [ 755 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/05/spilling-detox-tea-see-ftc-action-social-media-influencer-advertising/id=110955/

In a recent letter, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) urged the Federal Trade Commission to take action against makers of “detox teas” for engaging in “predatory” and misleading marketing tactics on social media platforms, targeting primarily young adults (and young women in particular).

IPWatchdog has been publishing readers' and staff picks for the Top 25 songs of all time for the past four years on the ...

07/04/2019

My Top 25 Songs of All Time: An IPWatchdog Fourth of July Tradition

IPWatchdog has been publishing readers' and staff picks for the Top 25 songs of all time for the past four years on the Fourth of July. See previous posts here, here, here, and here. Not one to snub tradition, this year it's my turn. I was raised chiefly in the 1980s and 90s, but my heart has always been with 60s/70s folk music and classic rock (while my tween friends were fawning over NKOTB I was renting… [ 1,142 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/04/my-top-25-songs-of-all-time-an-ipwatchdog-4th-of-july-tradition/id=110902/

IPWatchdog has been publishing readers' and staff picks for the Top 25 songs of all time for the past four years on the Fourth of July. Not one to snub tradition, this year it's my turn.

Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. Happy 4th! T...

07/03/2019

Other Barks & Bites for Wednesday, July 3: Athena v. Mayo Denied En Banc Review; USPTO Announces Trademark Attorney Rule; China Says IP Theft Will Be Compensated

Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. Happy 4th! This week Barks & Bites comes early, starting with a bite: The Federal Circuit denies rehearing of Athena Diagnostics v. Mayo Collaborative Services, shattering the hopes of many amici and diagnostic companies; Huawei warns against politicization of IP law after the Trump Administration rolls back part of its ban against Huawei’s U.S. [ 1,374 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/03/other-barks-uspto-announces-trademark-attorney-rule-china-says-ip-theft-will-be-compensated/id=110969/

Happy 4th! This week Barks & Bites comes early, starting with a bite: The Federal Circuit denies rehearing of Athena Diagnostics v. Mayo Collaborative Services, shattering the hopes of many amici and diagnostic companies; Huawei warns against politicization of IP law; and more.

The 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance and Ex parte Fanaru had helped to reverse the damage done by...

07/03/2019

Has Cellspin Resurrected Electric Power Group?

The 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance and Ex parte Fanaru had helped to reverse the damage done by Electric Power Group., LLC v. Alstrom S.A,, but following the recent Cellspin decision, Electric Power Group may make a comeback. I thought the Electric Power Group decision was effectively dead. It used an overbroad characterization of patent claims under Step 1 of… [ 463 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/03/cellspin-resurrected-electric-power-group/id=110927/

I thought the Electric Power Group decision was effectively dead. Now, however, Electric Power Group may make a comeback. The very recent Cellspin decision again cited to Electric Power Group to support a very broad Step 1 characterization of claims.

“In the real world, which is experiencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution—where even the average modern car contain...

07/02/2019

As Congress Contemplates Curbing Alice, More Than 60% of Issued U.S. Patents are Software Related

“In the real world, which is experiencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution—where even the average modern car contains roughly 150 million lines of code—the importance of software is undebatable.” It has been more than two years since I last wrote here that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank decision has left the IP bar without a clear and reliable test to determine when exactly a software (or computer-implemented) claim is patentable versus being simply an abstract idea “ [ 496 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/02/congress-contemplates-curbing-alice-60-issued-u-s-patents-software-related/id=110920/

It has been more than two years since I last wrote here that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank decision has left the IP bar without a clear and reliable test to determine when exactly a software (or computer-implemented) claim is patentable versus being simply an abstract idea.

“Changing would only provide fuel to the courts, strategic infringers, and other bad actors to burn down the patent sy...

07/02/2019

Urge Congress to Keep the Established and Efficiently Working Sections 100 and 112 of the U.S. Patent Act

“Changing would only provide fuel to the courts, strategic infringers, and other bad actors to burn down the patent system again, as they have done in the past with Section 101.” Now that the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property has concluded its hearings on patent eligibility reform, it appears that the draft changes to Sections 100 and 112 are the last great danger in the overall patent eligibility debate and we must not let our guard down. [ 1,108 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/02/urge-congress-keep-established-efficiently-working-sections-100-112-u-s-patent-act/id=110895/

Now that the Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property has concluded its hearings on patent eligibility reform, it appears that the draft changes to Sections 100 and 112 are the last great danger in the overall patent eligibility debate and we must not let our guard down.

"The district court was wrong on a number of levels here, and it’s nice to see the Federal Circuit rein it in a bit." ...

07/01/2019

Federal Circuit Cellspin Ruling Provides Important Clarifications on Aatrix and Berkheimer

"The district court was wrong on a number of levels here, and it’s nice to see the Federal Circuit rein it in a bit." On June 25, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an opinion in Cellspin Soft, Inc. v. Fitbit, Inc. (2018-1817, 2018-1819 to 1826), reversing a district court’s grant of various Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss complaints that alleged patent infringement based on… [ 1,514 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/01/federal-circuit-cellspin-ruling-provides-important-clarifications-aatrix-berkheimer/id=110882/

On June 25, the CAFC issued an opinion in Cellspin Soft, Inc. v. Fitbit, Inc. reversing a district court’s grant of various Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss complaints of patent infringement, holding that the court misconstrued precedent from both Aatrix Software, Inc. v. Green Shades Software and...

“The University of California group and the Broad Institute group have been facing off in a series of legal battles re...

07/01/2019

PTAB Declares New Patent Interference Proceedings in CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Battle

“The University of California group and the Broad Institute group have been facing off in a series of legal battles regarding which side can properly claim to be the rightful inventor of perhaps the world’s most widely applicable gene editing technology useful for treating diseases, improving life science research and increasing the rate of biotechnology innovations.” On Tuesday, June 24, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) declared an interference proceeding between a collection of entities that are on opposing sides in the race to commercialize CRISPR-Cas9 genomic editing technologies. [ 1,082 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/01/ptab-declares-new-patent-interference-proceedings-crispr-cas9-gene-editing-battle/id=110855/

On Tuesday, June 24, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) declared an interference proceeding between a collection of entities that are on opposing sides in the race to commercialize CRISPR-Cas9 genomic editing technologies.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. is seeking a patent attorney at the Associate Director level to assist with the developme...

07/01/2019

Regeneron Seeks Associate Director, Patent Attorney in Portfolio Development - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. is seeking a patent attorney at the Associate Director level to assist with the development of strategies for expanding Regeneron’s intellectual property protection around key molecules, platforms and other technologies to ensure Regeneron’s long-term competitive advantage. WE OFFER FREE SHUTTLE TO AND FROM METRO NORTH. RELOCATION is paid Known for its scientific and operational excellence, Regeneron is a leading science-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, invents, develops, manufactures, and commercializes medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. [ 459 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/07/01/regeneron-seeks-associate-director-patent-attorney-in-portfolio-development/id=110820/

IPWatchdog’s third Patent Masters Symposium was held this past week in Arlington, Virginia, and included some of the b...

06/30/2019

Patent Masters Deliver Three Recommendations to Congress on Patent Reform - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law

IPWatchdog’s third Patent Masters Symposium was held this past week in Arlington, Virginia, and included some of the best and brightest in the patent world. The event focused on the effects of Alice five years on, but more importantly, identified practical approaches for navigating Section 101 law now and in the future. Sponsored by LexisNexis, the two-day event touched on themes including how the USPTO’s incentive system for both examiners and Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges may be influencing practices that are detrimental to patent owners; how the overall culture at the USPTO may be more crucial than any guidance that comes down from the top; how the U.S. [ 993 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/30/patent-masters-deliver-three-recommendations-congress-patent-reform/id=110847/

IPWatchdog’s third Patent Masters Symposium was held this past week in Arlington, Virginia, and included some of the best and brightest in the patent world. Throughout the event, I asked attendees to vote on several statements, and those that received at least 80% of the vote are included in the l...

“In the three years before Williamson, district court litigants had a 24% success rate in making arguments that claim ...

06/29/2019

One Overlooked Consequence if Congress Discards Alice: More Williamson Section 112(f) Challenges

“In the three years before Williamson, district court litigants had a 24% success rate in making arguments that claim terms lacking ‘means for’ language are subject to Section 112(f) (25 out of 104 cases). In the three years after Williamson, district courts issued 171 opinions addressing terms lacking ‘means for’ language and Section 112(f) …representing a 64% increase .” [ 659 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/29/one-overlooked-consequence-congress-discards-alice-williamson-section-112f-challenges/id=110801/

Congress is set to undo the Alice test for Section 101 eligibility - but if this comes to pass, the testimony and the data on recent district court decisions strongly suggest that Section 112(f) will emerge as the preeminent ground for early validity challenges.

Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. This week in...

06/28/2019

Other Barks & Bites for Friday, June 28: Supreme Court Grants Trademark Cases for Next Term, Senators Reiterate Need for Patent Eligibility Reform, and Four Pharma Bills Advance in Senate

Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. This week in Other Barks & Bites: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear two trademark cases next term; Senators Thom Tillis and Chris Coons issue a statement regarding the recent round of patent eligibility hearings by the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee; four bills that would impact pharmaceutical patents and practices have passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Huawei publicly calls out negative impact of Senator Marco Rubio’s legislative amendment preventing it from seeking U.S. [ 1,357 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/28/barks-bites-friday-june-28-supreme-court-grants-trademark-cases-next-term-senators-reiterate-need-patent-eligibility-reform-pharma-bill-advances-senate/id=110827/

This week in Other Barks & Bites: The Supreme Court today agreed to hear two trademark cases next term; four bills that would impact pharmaceutical patents and practices passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and more.

“In 2019, non-inventors are again dominating the legislative process, including some of the very individuals that succ...

06/27/2019

Congress Must Work to Understand the Language of Inventors

“In 2019, non-inventors are again dominating the legislative process, including some of the very individuals that successfully advocated for the harmful decisions and policies of years past.” One of the more dramatic moments in my $20 million dollar patent brawl occurred in the pivotal preliminary injunction hearing at the courthouse in downtown Tyler, Texas. I learned that Walmart was coming to monitor the proceedings. [ 1,996 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/27/congress-must-work-understand-language-inventors/id=110777/

The problem with our patent system is that it is run by people who don’t understand invention. Think about it, we have to use this bizarre legal document not only to describe our discovery but to describe the boundaries of it. For inventors, there are no boundaries.

“It is past time for the courts to understand that the patent law does not begin and end with Section 101.” The Inve...

06/27/2019

Supreme Court Refusal to Hear Investpic Signals Death for Most Software Patent Applications

“It is past time for the courts to understand that the patent law does not begin and end with Section 101.” The Investpic v. SAP America case (Supreme Court Dkt. No. 18-1199), which is the 44th patent eligibility case to be considered for certiorari since the notorious Alice Corp. decision, was announced earlier this week. Cert. denied. Unlike almost any other case, the… [ 1,270 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/27/supreme-court-refusal-hear-investpic-signals-death-software-patent-applications/id=110755/

The Investpic v. SAP America case (Supreme Court Dkt. No. 18-1199), which is the 44th patent eligibility case to be considered for certiorari since the notorious Alice Corp. decision, was announced earlier this week. Cert. denied.

“The Federal Circuit is not going to throw out an IPR based on a mere technicality. The provisions governing RPI and i...

06/27/2019

Federal Circuit in Mayne Pharma: Reasonable Mistake Identifying a Real-Party-In-Interest Does Not Doom IPR Petition

“The Federal Circuit is not going to throw out an IPR based on a mere technicality. The provisions governing RPI and institution of IPRs are going to be interpreted in a practical way.” The Federal Circuit last week upheld a PTAB final written decision invalidating Mayne Pharma’s U.S. Patent 6,881,745 over its objection that the petition for inter partes review (IPR) filed by Merck Sharpe & Dohme (MSD) was fatally defective for having omitted parent corporation Merck & Co., Inc. [ 1,041 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/27/federal-circuit-mayne-pharma-reasonable-mistake-identifying-real-party-interest-not-doom-ipr-petition/id=110734/

The Federal Circuit last week upheld a PTAB final written decision invalidating Mayne Pharma’s U.S. Patent 6,881,745 over its objection that the petition for inter partes review filed by Merck Sharpe & Dohme was fatally defective for having omitted parent corporation Merck & Co., Inc. as a real-pa...

“Economically, incremental innovation in the pharmaceutical industry delivers cost savings. Incremental innovations ar...

06/26/2019

India’s Patent Law is No Model for the United States: Say No to No Combination Drug Patents Act

“Economically, incremental innovation in the pharmaceutical industry delivers cost savings. Incremental innovations are usually launched at a discount and the resulting competition across drugs in a therapeutic class results in lower prices.” The United States is on the brink of making changes to the U.S. patent law that would be modeled on India’s Patent Law. At a Senate Judiciary Committee markup scheduled for tomorrow, June 27, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly… [ 1,082 more word ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/26/indias-patent-law-no-model-united-states/id=110727/

The United States is on the brink of making changes to the U.S. patent law that would be modeled on India’s Patent Law. At a Senate Judiciary Committee markup scheduled for tomorrow, June 27, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) plans to offer language as an amendment in the form of the No Combination Dr...

Seventy-two companies and organizations, ranging from Tivo to Bristol-Myers Squibb and from the American Conservative Un...

06/26/2019

U.S. Companies and Groups to Congress: the Section 101 Reform Draft is Good and Genes are Safe

Seventy-two companies and organizations, ranging from Tivo to Bristol-Myers Squibb and from the American Conservative Union to the Alliance of U.S. Startups & Inventors for Jobs (USIJ)— as well as retired Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel—have sent a letter to Senators Thom Tillis and Chris Coons and Representatives Hank Johnson, Doug Collins, and Steve Stivers in support of the current draft language to reform Section 101 of the U.S. [ 573 more words ]
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/06/26/us-companies-groups-congress-101-draft-good-genes-safe/id=110717/

Seventy-two companies and organizations, as well as retired Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel, have sent a letter to Senators Thom Tillis and Chris Coons and Representatives Hank Johnson, Doug Collins, and Steve Stivers in support of the current draft language to reform Section 101 of the U.S....

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