Patent Law Practice Center

Challenge to ObjectVideo Patent in ITC Case, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of March 19, 2012

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

Last Friday a 916-page request for inter partes reexamination was filed against ObjectVideo’s U.S. Patent No. 7,613,424 (see inter partes Request No. (4)).  The ‘424 patent is one of six patents that are the subject of an ITC investigation – Certain Video Analytics – instituted last July against Bosch, Samsung and Sony.  Although the identity of the Requestor is not yet apparent from the PTO docket, it is likely one of these three Respondents in the ITC case.  Reexamination has less impact on ITC investigations than on infringement actions in the District Courts because the ITC refuses to stay its cases.  On the other hand, one wonders whether the ITC, given its focus on protecting the public interest, would be willing to maintain an exclusion order where the patent-in-question has been determined in reexamination at the PTO to be unpatentable.  Perhaps the ObjectVideo case will present that issue.

In an unusual twist, an unidentified third party requested reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 6,307,955 last Monday, and on Friday, the ‘955 patentee, Topaz Systems, filed its own request (see ex parte Request Nos. (1) & (7)).

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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…)

Top 5 Patent Law Blog Posts of the Week

Today we continue our weekly installment highlighting the best of the patent blogosphere from the past week. If there are any patent blogs you think should be highlighted by our Top 5, please comment on this post and we’ll check them out.

1) IP Watchdog: Making it Easier to Get a Patent – Guest author, Mark Nowotarski, shares the experience he has had in getting patent applications granted in this post. He notes that certain technology classes are harder to get a patent awarded in. As such, he explains how one can see if a technology class is getting easier or harder by plotting the patent filing dates in that class versus patent issue dates.

2) Patently-O: Kimberly-Clark v. Naty: Did Reexamination Clean the Diaper? – This post discusses how Kimberly-Clark has sued Naty Babycare for infringement of a diaper with an “elastomeric ear” having non-parallel edges. In 2010, an ex parte reexamination was begun and KC cancelled all 30 issued claims but then added an additional four claims. Unfortunately for Naty, the  patent still has one year on its term. (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…)