Posts in Government

Following a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release issued last week announcing that a patent examiner agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations that she worked on a number of patent applications in which she held a direct financial stake, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires on Monday issued new guidance directing patent examiners to recuse themselves in all instances where they have a financial stake in a patent applicant’s company.    

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday filed a joint Statement of Interest preferencing strong injunctive relief for patent owners over courts valuing patents. The brief comes just a few months after the two agencies filed a joint statement of interest at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) arguing that exclusion orders should be the presumptive remedy for infringement there.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Friday affirmed a final written decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding filed by Apple, Inc. The court’s decision upheld the patentability of several claims of a Smart Mobile Technologies LLC patent that Apple had challenged as obvious, with Circuit Judge Dyk issuing a partial dissent.

Every day, Americans rely on technologies that were unimaginable just a generation ago – from advanced medical devices and artificial intelligence–powered applications to connected consumer electronics. These breakthroughs did not emerge in a vacuum. They are the product of an innovation ecosystem shaped by policy choices. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)—an agency with the extraordinary power to block imports and, in turn, influence the direction of American technology policy—has drifted out of that balance. To align with the Trump Administration’s intellectual property priorities and pro-investment agenda, the ITC is in urgent need of reform.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Public Affairs, on Wednesday, February 25, issued a press release announcing that a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examiner will pay $500,000 to settle allegations that she worked “personally and substantially” on a number of patent applications “in which she held a direct financial stake.” Daxin Wu is alleged to have examined at least nine applications for companies she held stock in between January 2019 and May 2022. Specifically, the DOJ said that she reviewed applications for companies in which she held more than $300,000 and $140,000 worth of stock, respectively, and that she reviewed applications for companies that were competitors of a firm in which she owned more than $900,000 worth of stock.

Charge Fusion Technologies, LLC has managed to defend its patent at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), with a split panel on Thursday affirming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB’s) decision that Tesla failed to prove Charge Fusion’s electric vehicle (EV) charger claims unpatentable. The opinion was authored by Judge Chen, who was joined by Judge Reyna, while Judge Dyk filed a dissenting opinion.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Wednesday issued an order in In re Kahoot! AS, denying another petition for writ of mandamus that challenged the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director’s refusal to institute an inter partes review (IPR) petition based on “settled expectations” of the patent owner. The per curiam order was issued by Circuit Judges Taranto, Mayer, and Stark.

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. ___ (2026), affirming the Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. And it means the Federal Circuit should rule in favor of Director Squires and against Volkswagen in one of the more constitutionally focused writs of mandamus challenging Squires and his use of discretion to decide institution of inter partes reviews (IPRs). And there is no need for an oral argument.

A battle is currently being waged in a federal court in Washington D.C., where two prominent inventors are accusing the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of singling out and stalling their pending patent applications, which might otherwise be allowable, for extra scrutiny under ill-defined standards. The inventors allege that the USPTO has resurrected a program that started in 1994, that purportedly justified such added scrutiny, which the USPTO claims to have discontinued in 2015.

The U.S. Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Tuesday issued three orders denying mandamus petitions filed by inter partes review (IPR) petitioners at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Each of the petitioners was seeking relief from the court to compel the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to institute their IPR petitions, following decisions that denied institution of the IPRs.

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, I had the pleasure of speaking with Deborah Farone, founder of Farone Advisors, former Chief Marketing Officer of Cravath, Swain & Moore, and author of Breaking Ground: How Successful Women Lawyers Build Thriving Practices. Our conversation focused on how lawyers—particularly in highly technical fields like intellectual property—can build thriving practices through disciplined, strategic business development. The discussion underscores that business development is a skill, not an innate personality trait. Even introverted attorneys can succeed by taking incremental steps, practicing authentic communication, and focusing on listening rather than selling.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released its assessment of the Biden Administration’s “Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights.” A bipartisan combination of Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) along with Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) asked the GAO to evaluate the guidelines on three bases: what the guidelines did and how they were developed; stakeholder views on the draft; and the potential impact of the guidelines.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on February 20 affirmed two final written decisions from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings upholding claims of Netlist, Inc.’s patent.

Earlier today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a blog post following up to a comment submitted by the Chamber late last week to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) urging the agency to rescind proposed price controls that would require pharmaceutical companies to offer drugs to Medicare on a “most-favored-nation” basis. The Chamber argues that applying foreign pricing controls on U.S. drug sales would have a deleterious impact on both American innovation and patient access to lifesaving treatments, and that such measures exceed CMS’ authority established by its governing statute.

Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, respectively, sent a letter on Thursday to Director of the American Law Institute Diane Wood asking for answers to 14 questions about the latest Copyright Restatement Project. The letter follows mass resignations from the project last year over concerns about the final product. Specifically, key copyright proponents resigned over what one of those who resigned, Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid, referred to as “a general undercurrent of anti-copyright sentiment that…manifests itself through a disproportionate focus on atypical court decisions that limit the scope of copyright protection.”