The Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a harmonization of the U.S. and European existing patent classification systems, the European Classification System (ECLA) and the U.S. Patent Classification (USPC). The change to the CPC was initiated through a joint partnership between the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The CPC is the result of the USPTO’s effort to provide a modern classification system that is internationally compatible; and a result of the EPO’s effort to eliminate the reclassification of U.S. patent documents and ensure compliance with International Patent Classification (IPC), administered by the World...
The Latest From Kinney and Lange
SHARETag Archive: Patents
Federal Circuit Reaffirms Patent Exhaustion Doctrine
June 2, 2016
By: Andrew Swanson In Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Impression Prods., Inc., 16 F.3d 721 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (en banc), the Federal Circuit was asked to determine the applicability of the doctrine of patent exhaustion in two contexts. First, the court was asked to determine whether the sale of a patented article to end users under a restriction that is otherwise lawful and within the scope of a patent grant nonetheless gives rise to patent exhaustion. The court held that a patentee may reserve its patent rights by selling a patented article under otherwise-proper restrictions on resale and reuse that are...
Recently Issued Patents
June 2, 2016
Kinney & Lange P.A. files hundreds of new patent applications each year in a wide variety of technology areas. Below are a few recently issued U.S. patents for which the firm is listed as the legal representative. 9,174,231 “Sprayer fluid supply with collapsible liner” 9,175,567 “Low loss airfoil platform trailing edge” 9,182,258 “Variable frequency magnetic flowmeter” 9,188,620 “Method of detection and isolation of faults within power conversion and distribution systems” 9,194,027 “Method of forming high strength aluminum alloy parts containing L12 intermetallic dispersoids by ring rolling” 9,200,882 “Contour interval control for an aquatic geographic information system” 9,206,367 “Method for cold...
Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Review for Claim Construction
November 1, 2015
■ Nicholas J. Peterka In Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 574 U.S. ___, No. 13-854 (2015), the Supreme Court held that the Federal Circuit must apply the clearly erroneous standard when reviewing a district court’s resolution of subsidiary factual matters made during the court’s patent claim construction. At dispute was the meaning of the term “molecular weight.” Each party presented extrinsic evidence in the form of expert testimony and, relying on patent owner Teva’s expert, the district court determined that “molecular weight” was not indefinite. Sandoz appealed the claim construction to the Federal Circuit, which reviewed de novo...
Recent Patents | Newsletter, Vol. 8, Issue 1
November 1, 2015
Kinney & Lange P.A. files hundreds of new patent applications each year in a wide variety of technology areas. Below are a few recently issued U.S. patents for which the firm is listed as the legal representative. 9,023,155 “Engine wash apparatus and method-manifold” 9,021,778 “Airfoil including trench with contoured surface” 9,025,294 “System and method for controlling solid state circuit breakers” 9,030,200 “Spin dependent tunneling devices with magnetization states based on stress conditions” 9,027,609 “Argon gas level controller” 9,032,619 “Compressor stator chord restoration repair method and apparatus” 9,034,465 “Thermally insulative attachment”
Laches in Patent and Copyright Law: A Different Calculus
November 1, 2015
■ Adam E. Szymanski In SCA Hygiene Prods. Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Prods., LLC, No. 2013-1564 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 18, 2015), the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ruling en banc, held that laches remains a defense to legal relief in a patent infringement suit, despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Petrella v. Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 134 S. Ct. 1962 (2014) regarding laches in copyright cases. SCA sued First Quality for infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,375,646 directed to absorbent pants-type diapers. SCA sent a letter to First Quality on October 31, 2003, asserting that First Quality’s Prevail®...
‘Means’ Or Not ‘Means’, That Is The Question
November 1, 2015
■ John D. Leighton The presence or absence of the word “means” in a claim has long been accompanied by one of two comp-lementary presumptions. Using the word “means” in a claim element creates a rebuttable presumption that §112, para. 6 applies and means-plus-function claiming occurs. Conversely, failure to use the word ‘means’ also creates a rebuttable presumption — this time that §112, para. 6 does not apply. Since 2004, however, these presumptions have been asymmetric ones. The Federal Circuit first established this asymmetry with the Lighting World, Inc. v. Birchwood Lighting, Inc., 382 F.3d 1354, 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2004)...
The Federal Circuit’s Second En Banc Decision In Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks
November 1, 2015
■ John P. Fandrey In August of 2015, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued its second en banc decision in Akamai Techs., Inc., v. Limelight Networks, Inc., Nos. 2009-1372, 2009-1380, 2009-1416, 2009-1417 (Fed. Cir., August 13, 2015), a case which began in 2006. The underlying issue is whether there is liability for so-called “divided” or “split” infringement involving multiple actors. The Federal Circuit explained that in patent infringement cases the acts of one actor may be attributed to another where the other “conditions participation in an activity or receipt of a benefit upon performance of a step or steps...
AIA Brings Welcome Change to PCT Filing
May 9, 2015
Thanks to the America Invents Act (AIA), the USPTO may serve as the receiving office for PCT applications by foreign inventors if the “applicant,” including a commercial assignee of the invention, is a U.S. resident. The PCT allows “applicants,” defined as “any natural person or legal entity,” to file PCT applications in the country of which they are a resident or national. Prior to the AIA, the USPTO recognized only inventors as applicants and, therefore, PCT applications with U.S. assignees but without U.S. inventors had to be filed with the country of nationality or residency of the inventor or with...
Recent Patents | Newsletter Vol. 7, Issue 2
May 1, 2015
Kinney & Lange P.A. files hundreds of new patent applications each year in a wide variety of technology areas. Below are a few recently issued U.S. patents for which the firm is listed as the legal representative. 8,899,872 “Thermoplastic die box with quick height adjustment mechanism” 8,899,916 “Torque frame and asymmetric journal bearing for fan drive gear system” 8.899,910 “Air turbine starter and method for venting without loss of oil” 8,916,075 “Method of making a reinforced resin structure” 8,960,739 “Multi-functional doorstop tool” 8,963,735 “Turbine meter pre-scaling terminal block electronics” 8,960,236 “Bypass piston port and methods of manufacturing a bypass...