WesternGeco v. ION Geophysical

It is an act of infringement under U.S. patent law to supply "in or from the United States" certain components of a patented invention with the intent that they "will be combined outside of the United States in a manner that would infringe the patent if such combination occurred within the United States." 35 U.S.C. 271 .

Oilfield services provider wins patent damages

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that companies can recover profits lost because of the unauthorized use of their patented technology abroad in a victory for Schlumberger N.V., the world's largest oilfield services provider. The 7-2 decision overturned a lower court's ruling that had enforced limits on applying U.S. patent law overseas and reduced by $93.4 million the damages sum that rival ION Geophysical Corp. had to pay for infringing Schlumberger technology that helps find oil and gas beneath the ocean floor.

U.S. – Attorney’s fee awards in Lanham Act cases: An “exceptional” outcome

In this recent decision , the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified the requisite showing for obtaining an award of attorney fees under the Lanham Act. Reversing a decision out of the Eastern District of Virginia, the Fourth Circuit held that a party seeking attorney fees need only prove that its case is "exceptional" by a preponderance of the evidence , and not by the more stringent clear and convincing standard applied by the district court .

Amazon delivery drone may use lights and music when it shows up at your home

If you didn't already know it, Amazon really wants to deliver stuff to your door using unmanned aerial vehicles , commonly known as drones. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos unveiled a prototype of the Prime Air delivery drone in 2013, and several redesigns later, the company is surely coming close to a platform that it hopes will transform its delivery operation.

UC vs. Harvard: Round 2 in CRISPR fight

The University of California is fighting back in its quest to regain control over the rights to the powerful gene-editing technology known as CRISPR-Cas9. On Monday, in a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., UC asserted that the valuable patents on the revolutionary tool belong to UC, not the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT - and that the nation's patent office committed serious legal errors when it ruled in 2017 against the University of California.

People in the News – Feb. 13, 2018 – Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nade

Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel partner John D. Simmons, who also serves as president of the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association, organized and led the association's first CLE meeting of the year on Jan. 18. The program was presented by Simmons' longtime client, Michael W. Shore, an attorney and partner at the Dallas law firm of Shore Chan DePumpo. Shore's presentation was titled "Allergan Partnering With the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe: Sovereign Immunity to Avoid Inter Partes Review Challenges."

Copyright Exception May Overrule Ability To Jailbreak 3D Printers

At the end of October, the US Patent and Trademark Office renewed a rule allowing anyone to 'jailbreak' a 3D printer to use unapproved filament. For those of you following along from countries that haven't sent a man to the moon, a printer that requires proprietary filament is DRM, and exceptions to the legal enforceability DRM exist, provided these exceptions do not violate US copyright law.

US Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on the Constitutionality of IPR Proceedings

On Monday, November 27, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC over whether inter partes review - an adversarial process used by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to analyze the validity of existing patents - violates the US Constitution.1 Although it is difficult to predict which way the Court will rule, the questions posed by each Justice in oral argument may signal the Justices' views on the issue of constitutionality of IPRs.

Supreme Court divided over legality of patent reviews

U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared divided over whether a federal agency's in-house process for challenging patents violates the constitutional rights of patent owners, leaving the fate of a system that has led to a high rate of patent cancellation uncertain. In one of the most important patent cases to come before the Supreme Court in years, the nine justices heard an hour of arguments in a dispute over the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's patent review proceeding known as inter partes review .

American Intellectual Property Law Association 2017 Annual Meeting to Draw Thousands

Intellectual Property practitioners from across the world will join together with their peers in the creative and legal communities at the American Intellectual Property Law Association's 2017 Annual Meeting. AIPLA's Annual Meeting, which gathers thought-leaders from all areas of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, expects hundreds of attendees to descend upon Washington, DC this fall.