Patent Law Practice Center

Challenges to Six Mad Dogg Exercise Bicycle Patents, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of March 12, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Mad Dogg Athletics has vigorously enforced its exercise bicycle patents against a host of exercise equipment makers, including Nautilus. Last Wednesday, competitor BH North America struck back, requesting reexamination of six Mad Dogg patents (see ex parte Request Nos. (7) to (12)).

Boston Scientific filed another request against an Orbusneichintraluminal endoprosthesis patent, continuing the run of reexamination requests regarding medical devices (see inter partesRequest No. (8)).

And a reexamination was requested, for the first time in my memory, of a plant patent – U.S. Plant Patent No. 17,637 entitled “Plum Tree Named ‘Constanza’” (see inter partes Request No. (10)). (more…)

Attacks on Medtronic & OrbusNeich Medical Device Patents Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of March 5th

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Edwards Lifesciences requested reexamination of a Medtronicprosthetic valve patent last week (see inter partes Request No. (1)).  The companies are involved in an infringement action in the Central District of California regarding ‘281 patent.  And Boston Scientific requested reexamination of an OrbusNeich helical stent patent (see inter partes Request No. (9)).  OrbusNeich has sued Boston Scientific in the Eastern District of Virginia for infringement of that patent, as well as trade secret misappropriation.

The winner for filing the most requests last week, however, was Verizon that sought reexamination of seven Realtime Data patent claiming data storage and retrieval systems (see inter partesRequest Nos. (2) to (8)).  The parties are involved in litigation in the Eastern District of Texas.

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Attack on MobileMedia Ideas Audio Delivery Data Patent, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of February 27th

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Last Friday, reexamination was requested of a MobileMedia Ideasaudio data delivery patent, likely by HTC (see ex parte Request No. (14)).  In 2010, MobileMedia sued HTC in the Eastern District of Texas for infringement of that patent, as well as 10 other related data delivery patents.

Bosch Security Systems has sought reexamination of four video surveillance patents owned by ObjectVideo (see inter partesRequest Nos. (9), (10), (11), (12)).  An infringement action is pending in the Eastern District of Virginia between the companies, regarding these four patents.

And three new requests against medical device patents (see ex parte Request Nos. (6), (7) & (8)), continuing a recent trend. (more…)

Novozymes Attack on Patent for Ethanol-Producing Enzyme Composition, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of February 20, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Novozymes A/S, considered the world’s largest maker of industrial enzymes, requested reexamination of the recently-issued U.S. Patent No. 8,048,657 claiming an enzyme composition for making ethanol (see ex parte Request No. (8)).  Danisco, a DuPont subsidiary, owns the patent and is considered the world’s second largest maker of industrial enzymes.  Although there does not appear to be pending infringement action regarding Danisco’s ‘657 patent, one might soon be filed.  Novozymes has successfully suedDanisco for patent infringement, obtaining an $18.3 verdict in the Western District of Wisconsin at the end of October.

The refrigerator war between LG Electronics and Whirlpool opened a new front last week, with LG requesting reexamination of aWhirlpool ice-delivery patent (see ex parte Request No. (2)), andWhirlpool requesting reexamination of an LG icemaker patent (see inter partes Request No. 2)).  The companies have been battling in recent years in several District Court infringement actions and in an ITC investigation. (more…)

Challenges to Medical Device Patents Prominent Among Reexamination Requests Filed Week of February 6, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

There has been a notable increase in the number of reexamination requests filed against medical device patents.  That trend continued apace last week.

First, Innova Labs requested reexamination of two Inogen patents claiming structures for delivering therapeutic gases to patients (see inter partes Request Nos. (3) & (4)).  Inogen has sued Innova in the Central District of California for infringement of the patents.  Also, Globus Medical requested reexamination of three surgical access apparatus patents owned by Nuvasive (see inter partes Request Nos. (6), (7) & (8)).  Those companies are locked in an infringement action in Delaware.

And reexamination was requested for yet another Round Rock Research RFID patent and yet another Ronald Katz telephone patent (see ex parte Request Nos. (3) & (5)). (more…)