Patent Law Practice Center

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…)

Attack on the Walker Digital Image Management Patent, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of Jan 30th

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

Reexamination was requested last week by an un-identified party against a Walker Digital patent that names Jay Walker of Priceline fame as an inventor (see ex parte Request No. (1)).  The patent claims a computer readable storage medium in a camera, which stores instructions for the camera’s management of images. Walker Digital has sued Canon USA for infringement of the patent, and it might be Canon that filed the request.

Requests were filed by GT Nexus against four shipment monitoring patents owned by INTTRA, Inc. (see ex parte Request Nos. (7) to (10)).  The patents relate to systems including user interfaces that allow a shipper to track and trace containers across multiple carriers and an event notifications system.  The two companies are in an infringement action in the Northern District of California regarding these patents.

And reexamination has been requested for yet another MobileMedia Ideas patent, this time by Research In Motion (see ex parte Request No. (14)). (more…)

eBay Attack on Purple Leaf Electronic Transaction Patent Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of Jan. 23rd

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

Last week eBay replied to an infringement action filed against it in the Eastern District of Texas by Purple Leaf by seeking reexamination of the patent-in-suit (see inter partes Request No. (2)).  The Purple Leaf patent claims a process for conducting electronic transactions and making payments over the Internet.

The winner for the most reexamination requests filed wasNanosolar that challenged three Solannex patents related to photovoltaic cells (see ex parte Request Nos. (5), (6) & (7)).  The companies are in litigation over these patents in the Northern District of California.

Ex parte Request No. (4), involving U.S. Patent No. 5,337,753 owned by Biosig Instruments and claiming a heart rate monitor, is interesting in that it expressly calls for the PTO to “clarify the record” regarding the meaning of the claims.  The Request notes the ‘753 patent has been through an earlier reexamination, but that the trial judge in a pending infringement action has refused to rely on the patentee’s assertions in that earlier reexamination because they are “ambiguous.”  (more…)