Late last week in Natera, Inc. v. NeoGenomics Laboratories, Inc. (24-1324), the Federal Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction ruling from the lower court that mostly prohibits NeoGenomics from selling its oncology test marketed as RaDaR®. In doing so, the appellate panel confirms that the district court need not conduct claim
Stephanie D. Scruggs
Stephanie Scruggs is an experienced intellectual property attorney primarily focused on complicated patent disputes. Stephanie defends and enforces the IP rights of both U.S. and foreign-based clients in a wide range of industries, including the chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, electrical and mechanical fields.
M.S., Chemical Engineering
Patent Registration Number: 54,432
Spring Has Sprung Obviousness Trends from the Federal Circuit
There have been only a few precedential decisions from the Federal Circuit related to obviousness since spring sprung. While these decisions have produced mixed results for the lower courts, clinical study protocols have held up to appellate scrutiny both in the context of motivation to combine and reasonable expectation of success.
Reversed and Remanded to
…Make Sure You Behave and Keep Those Hands Clean: How Deceit and Bad Table Manners Can Bite
Last week in Luv n’ Care, Ltd. v. Laurain, the Federal Circuit put the lower court in time out and probably made Eazy-PZ, LLC (EZPZ) cry just a little bit harder. In this precedential decision involving U.S. Patent No. 9.462,903, the appellate panel vacated a Western District of Louisiana judgment of no inequitable…
A Port in the Infringement Storm: When 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(1)’s Safe Harbor Applies
Earlier this week, the Federal Circuit granted Meril Life Sciences safe passage out of the infringement storm — otherwise known as Edwards Lifesciences — continuing to chase it (at least for now). More specifically, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit issued an opinion affirming the Northern District of California’s grant of summary judgment to…
Still No Cancellation Based on Fraud, But What Next Steps Might the TTAB Take?
The Federal Circuit just “re-issued” its precedential decision in Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc. (No. 2022-1212), where it had previously reversed the USPTO’s cancellation of a registered trademark. There was no substantive change in this modified version of the prior opinion where the majority held that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board lacked…
Some Touch Up Needed: The Federal Circuit Partially Confirms the PTAB’s View of Analogous Art
In Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple Inc., the Federal Circuit partially signed off on Apple’s win before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidating a number of patents owned by Corephotonics relating to dual-aperture cameras and methods of using the images from both lenses when zooming while capturing video to prevent “jumping” (U.S. Patent…
Cancellation of a Registered Mark Based on Fraud in Section 15 Affidavit Not Allowed
On Wednesday, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision reversing the USPTO’s cancellation of a registered trademark (Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc., No. 2022-1212). As detailed in the opinion, the majority held that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board lacked the power to cancel a trademark registration based on…
More Antibody Claims Falling Under Post-Amgen Scrutiny
With only two precedential IP decisions coming down from the Federal Circuit in the second half of September, pickings were a little slim for blogging. That said, the opinion in Baxalta v. Genentech (2022-1461) — drafted by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore and joined by Judges Raymond Clevenger and Raymond Chen — is an…
Blue Gentian’s Efforts to Maintain Sole Inventorship Were Hosed by the Federal Circuit
Last week, the Federal Circuit issued another precedential decision on inventorship. However, unlike in HIP, Inc. v. Hormel Foods Corporation (22-1696) where the appellate panel found the purported inventor’s contribution to be “insignificant in quality . . . [when] measured against dimension of the full invention,” the panel in Blue Gentian, LLC v. Tristar Products, …
Boring Down on Unexceptional Arguments for Exceptionality
Last week, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision affirming a Southern District of Texas denial of FMC Technologies, Inc.’s attorneys’ fees motion. The panel here (comprised of Moore, Clevenger, and Dyk) seems almost as disdainful of FMC’s arguments for exceptionality as a completely different panel did when it affirmed the denial of Pure Hemp’s…
Supreme Court Delivers the Final Blow to Amgen
The questions from the high court during oral argument at the end of March 2023 were fairly telling of the 9-0 ruling that came down yesterday in Amgen, Inc. v. Sanofi (No. 21-757). In fact, it did not come as much of a surprise when the Supreme Court left intact the lower courts’ invalidity ruling…