Other Barks & Bites for Friday, April 17: CAFC Reverses District Court Rulings in Penile Implant Patent Case; CJEU Clarifies Scope of ‘Pastiche’ Copyright Exception; Stanford AI Index Shows Tech Gap Between U.S. And China Nearly Gone

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This week in Other Barks & Bites: the Federal Circuit reverses a California district court’s denial of JMOL on trade secret and patent inventorship claims related to a cosmetic penile implant; the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously advances a bill to reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative; the Court of Justice for the European Union clarifies the scope of the pastiche exception for new works sampling copyrighted works to engage in artistic, critical or humorous dialogue; TSMC and ASML are among leading chipmakers facing slipping share prices despite reporting strong profits for the most recent fiscal quarter; the Third Circuit affirms the denial of preliminary injunction after finding that Johnson & Johnson cannot prove irreparable harm from sublicenses of generic Stelara; Stanford HAI’s Artificial Intelligence Index shows that AI advances have been generating tremendous energy needs and that the U.S. technological lead over China has nearly disappeared; and federal lawmakers representing the state of North Carolina urge the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to consider the Research Triangle Region as the potential location for a new Community Outreach Office.

Bites 

CAFC Reverses Trade Secret, Patent Invalidity Rulings in Penile Implant Case – On Friday, April 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential ruling in International Medical Devices, Inc. v. Cornell reversing the Central District of California’s post-trial denial of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) following a jury verdict finding that several parties developing a cosmetic penile implant marketed as Augmenta willfully and misappropriated trade secrets from an inventor of a therapeutic penile implant marketed as Penuma, and that Augmenta’s patents were invalid for failing to list the inventor of Penuma. The Federal Circuit held that plaintiff’s testimony regarding the asserted trade secrets did not identify how the application of those trade secrets for cosmetic purposes differed from patents claiming those same features for therapeutic purposes, which also led to the reversal of the JMOL denial on invalidity because the basis of Penuma’s inventorship claim was directed to implant features that were generally known.

Senate Commerce Committee Unanimously Passes NQI Reauthorization Bill – On Tuesday, April 14, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation unanimously passed the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act out of committee toward a full vote on the Senate floor, which would reauthorize the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) established in 2018 to provide federal-level coordination of public and private investment into quantum standards and measurement science. The reauthorization bill extends the NQI by five years through 2034, directs the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop an international quantum strategy to coordinate R&D efforts with U.S. allies, and establishes up to three new centers under the direction of the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to advance research in quantum sensing, measurement and engineering.

CJEU Clarifies Scope of EU Copyright Exception for “Pastiche” Music Sampling – On Tuesday, April 14, the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) issued a decision on a question referred by the German Federal Court of Justice regarding exceptions to EU copyright law for purposes of “pastiche” in an infringement case involving the unauthorized use of a two-second rhythm sequence from a 1977 song by German electronic band Kraftwerk. The CJEU clarified the scope of the pastiche exception under EU law by declaring that the exception covers creations evoking existing works, noticeably different from the new work sampling them, that includes copyrightable elements of the original work in a way that can be recognized as engaging in artistic or creative dialogue, which can include an overt stylistic imitation or a humorous or critical engagement with those works.

Third Circuit Affirms Denial of Injunction Over Generic Stelara Sublicenses – On Tuesday, April 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued an opinion in Johnson & Johnson v. Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. affirming the District of New Jersey’s denial of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) motion for preliminary injunction of a sublicense granted by Samsung Bioepis to Cigna for a biosimilar version of psoriatic treatment Stelara, marketed by J&J subsidiary Janssen Biotech, to be sold by a subsidiary of the vertical integrated healthcare conglomerate Cigna Group. The Third Circuit agreed that Janssen proved no irreparable harm stemming from the sublicense, which was entered into in alleged violation of a patent litigation settlement between Janssen and Samsung Bioepis, after finding no per se rule that the loss of market share constitutes irreparable harm and that Janssen’s claimed loss of negotiating leverage caused by the private label product to be too speculative to support injunctive relief.

CAFC Says On-Sale Bar Can Be Triggered Without Public Invention Disclosure – On Tuesday, April 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential ruling in Definitive Holdings, LLC v. Powerteq LLC affirming the District of Utah’s decision on summary judgment that Definitive Holdings’ patent claims directed to methods and apparatuses for upgrading software in an engine controller were invalid as anticipated by pre-America Invents Act (AIA) 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) for being on sale in the U.S. more than one year prior to the patent application filing date. The Federal Circuit dismissed hearsay and admissibility challenges to deposition testimony from the CEO of a non-party who sold a device embodying all limitations of the asserted claims five years prior to the patent’s filing date and nixed Definitive Holdings’ challenge to the device’s prior art status, holding that the on-sale bar does not require that the details of the invention be disclosed publicly at the time of the sale.

Stanford HAI’s Artificial Intelligence Index Highlights Environmental, China Concerns – On Monday, April 13, the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) published the most recent version of its annual Artificial Intelligence Index, which measures the progress of AI technology across several wide ranging categories including technical capabilities, societal impact and public perception. This year’s AI Index reported that the cumulative power demand of comprehensive single platform AI providers like Grok 4 is comparable to the national electricity consumption of Switzerland or Austria, and despite the fact that the United States far outpaces other nations with $285.88 billion in private investment in AI during 2025, second-place China has been able to nearly erase the technological gap with the United States on only $12.41 billion worth of private investment during the same year.

Barks

U.S. Chamber’s GIPC to Host Global IP Summit in D.C. Next Tuesday – Next Tuesday, April 21, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) will host the Global IP Summit with the theme “Writing the Rules of Tomorrow: IP in Trade, Tech, and Sport” with several panels and keynote addresses discussing cross-border commerce issues in sports and technology and areas where modernized frameworks are urgently needed.

Eighth Circuit Affirms Attorney’s Fee Award in Berkshire Hathaway Copyright Case – On Wednesday, April 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a per curiam ruling in Ragan v. Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. affirming the Western District of Missouri’s award of nearly $320,000 in attorney’s fees against an individual who claimed that Berkshire had copied his intake form used for car dealership sales, which the district court found was not copyrightable.

EPO Offers Automated Live Caption Option to VICO Hearings Via Zoom – On Wednesday, April 15, the European Patent Office (EPO) announced that parties in opposition proceedings that have accessibility issues due to hearing impairments are now able to request that automated real-time captions are displayed during oral proceedings conducted by video conference (VICO) without requiring medical evidence of such impairments, although requests should be submitted in advance of hearings.

NC Federal Lawmakers Urge USPTO to Place COO in Research Triangle – On Tuesday, April 14, a letter sent by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Ted Budd (R-NC) along with Representative Deborah Ross (D-NC) addressed to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires recommended that the USPTO select the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina, formed by the locations of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and NC State University, as an ideal location for a new USPTO Community Outreach Office.

Temu Joins IACC to Expand Company’s Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts – On Tuesday, April 14, global e-commerce platform Temu announced that it had agreed to join the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) as a general member, expanding the company’s commitment since May 2025 when it signed a memorandum of understanding with the IACC and became an inaugural member of its Marketplace Advisory Council.

Via Licensing Announces Sony as Newest Member of Qi Wireless Charging Patent Pool – On Tuesday, April 14, collaborative licensing company Via Licensing announced that consumer electronics conglomerate Sony had joined Via’s Qi Wireless Charging patent pool as both a licensor and licensee, the ninth addition to the Qi patent pool over the past six months and increasing the patent pool’s share of standard-essential patents (SEP) in the Qi wireless charging space to more than 50%.

This Week on Wall Street

Chipmakers Facing Declining Stock Value Despite Strong Profits From AI Demand – On Thursday, April 17, shares of major global chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dipped in value by 3% after the company announced a 58% increase in profits during its first quarter, one day after Dutch chipmaker ASML saw its shares decline by 6.5% in value after raising its revenue forecast for 2026, with profits for both companies reportedly being driven by demand in the AI sector.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2024 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2023 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: 3M Co. (117th); Danaher Corp. (156th); Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (t-233rd); General Electric Co. (37th); Halliburton Co. (63rd); Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (t-146th); RTX Corp. (12th); Whirlpool Corp. (t-176th)
• Wednesday: ABB Ltd. (155th); AT&T Inc. (107th); Boeing Co. (49th); Boston Scientific Corp. (t-69th); Hyundai Motor Co. (17th); Philip Morris International (t-200th); TE Connectivity Ltd. (t-185th); Texas Instruments Inc. (41st)
• Thursday: Baker Hughes Co. (148th); Canon Inc. (9th); Comcast Corp. (89th); Dow Inc. (124th); Honeywell International Inc. (50th); Nokia Corp. (47th); Sanofi S.A. (181st); SAP SE (t-82nd); STMicroelectronics NV (64th); Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (t-161st)
• Friday: Fanuc Corp. (t-281st); Procter & Gamble Co. (t-82nd); Renesas Electronics Corp. (t-255th); Signify NV (t-163rd); AB Volvo (t-114th); ZTE Corp. (67th)

Ltr to USPTO on COO Locations PDF