Posts in IP News

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John A. Squires initiated a sua sponte Director Review on May 27 to investigate whether an inter partes review (IPR) petitioner violated its Sotera stipulation. The order stays the IPR proceeding and requires briefing from Nokia Technologies OY, ASUSTeK Computer Inc., and ASUS Computer International on whether a violation occurred and what the appropriate remedy should be. 

It is not news to anyone in the industry that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has changed. Thanks to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) leadership, discretionary denials have increased, institution rates have dramatically dropped, and that means patent owners are finally seeing relief at the front end of the inter partes review (IPR) process. There is great reason for the justifiable optimism you hear from patent owners.

This week on Other Barks & Bites: Circuit Judge Prost dissents from a Federal Circuit panel majority that found the statute of limitations had run out in Insulet’s trade secret case against EOFlow; the Copyright Office proposes amendments to the group registration option for frequently updated news websites; a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators announce a new bill representing an agreement struck on name, image and likeness (NIL) rights for college athletes; and more.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) in a precedential decision today reversed a district court’s judgment upholding a jury verdict of trade secret misappropriation and damages. The CAFC majority, with Judge Prost dissenting, found that the statute of limitations to bring a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) had expired. The decision reverses a $59.4 million damages award and was authored by Judge Dyk.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Thursday vacated a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision that had found Go1 Pty, Ltd. failed to prove the challenged claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,784,113 unpatentable as obvious. In the opinion, Judge Stoll found that the PTAB improperly dismissed expert testimony as conclusory when the expert relied on professional judgment and common sense to explain a simple design choice. The case involves an inter partes review (IPR) petition filed by Go1 challenging claims 1-16 of the ‘113 patent, which is owned by OpenSesame, Inc. and directed to an open and interactive e-learning system and method.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires on Tuesday, May 26, filed a Brief in Opposition to Gilbert Hyatt’s petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, which asks the Court to review—and ultimately reject—the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s existing doctrine of prosecution laches. Hyatt filed his petition on March 2, 2026. The specific question presented to the Justices is: “Whether the PTO may invoke the equitable doctrine of ‘prosecution laches’ to deny a patent to an applicant who has complied with all the Patent Act’s timeliness provisions.”

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday denied motions to dismiss three copyright infringement lawsuits brought by a jury consultant, Lindsay Olson, against criminal defense attorneys representing defendants charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, who downloaded her copyrighted report from a public docket and republished it in their own clients’ cases.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision today in ClearPlay, Inc. v. DISH Network L.L.C., affirming the United States District Court for the District of Utah’s grant of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of noninfringement in favor of DISH Network L.L.C. and EchoStar Technologies LLC. The ruling held that the trial evidence, even viewed in the light most favorable to ClearPlay, was insufficient to sustain the jury’s infringement verdict on either of the asserted patents.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Versata Software, LLC v. Ford Motor Co. reversing the Eastern District of Michigan’s ruling on judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) reducing Versata’s unjust enrichment damages to $0 after holding that the district court erred in precluding such damages from being awarded by a jury. The Federal Circuit also reinstated the jury verdict’s full award on Versata’s breach of contract claim after finding that the jury properly relied on a damages basis established via the parties’ licensing history, and affirmed the district court’s denial of JMOL to Ford on the knowledge required for trade secret liability.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued two decisions Friday in Pictometry International Corporation v. Roofr Inc., affirming separate Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) final written decisions that held all claims of two Pictometry International Corporation patents unpatentable for obviousness over combinations of prior art.

Aurora Patents is looking for a Software and Medical Device Patent Agent to help with patent portfolio management, application drafting, prosecution, and strategy. This is a fully remote (anywhere in the U.S.), full-time or part-time role with a flexible work week.

This week in Other Barks & Bites: Hims & Hers releases a generic version of semaglutide after the expiration of Novo Nordisk’s relevant patent rights in Canada; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires tells the Federal Circuit that InComm cannot appeal an inter partes review proceeding resulting in patent invalidation but then terminated after a revised order; the European Commission announces a call for evidence on proposals to modernize the EU’s copyright framework; Nvidia posts a quarterly beat on earnings as it announces changes to its financial reporting for its artificial intelligence segments; the Federal Circuit vacates a district court’s post-trial ruling limiting a jury’s award of unjust enrichment damages in a trade secret case to $0; and

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision today in Samesurf, Inc. v. Intuit Inc., affirming a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) final written decision finding all claims of Samesurf’s patent directed to synchronized web browsing sessions unpatentable for obviousness. The decision was authored by Circuit Judge Stark and joined by Circuit Judges Dyk and Chen, who held that the Board correctly construed the central disputed claim term.

To compete in artificial intelligence (AI) markets, emerging companies must choose one of two routes: the capital-intensive route entails buying compute and datasets to build in-house foundation models and refining them into agents for specific use cases. Alternatively, emergents can license pre-trained models and lease compute to focus on developing applications for the end user, whether that is a solo software developer or an entire business domain.

Bayes PLLC is looking for a Patent Preparation and Prosecution Attorney or Agent who wants more than a job. Bayes offers direct access to technically rich work, flexible scheduling, and a close-knit team environment where your contributions actually matter. At Bayes, you will draft and prosecute patent applications across some of the most exciting technology spaces today: semiconductors, AI, telecommunications, medical devices, consumer electronics, and renewable energy. As you grow, you will have the opportunity to expand into invalidity proceedings, patent litigation support, and IP due diligence. This is a full-time or part-time, hybrid position.