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Federal Circuit Dismisses Patent Owner’s Appeal for Lack of Final Judgment Under Rule 54(b)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision today in ParkerVision, Inc. v. Qualcomm Incorporated dismissing ParkerVision’s appeal from a judgment of non-infringement for lack of appellate jurisdiction. The CAFC determined that a partial final judgment entered under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) was not final, since it resolved infringement of only some claims of a single patent. The CAFC also denied ParkerVision’s request to reassign the case to a different district judge on remand.

CAFC Says District Court Failed to Provide Sufficient Reasoning for Denying Sanctions, Attorney’s Fees

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential decision Wednesday vacating and remanding a district court ruling that had denied Pen-Tech Associates, Inc.’s motion for sanctions and attorney’s fees due to Epic Tech, LLC’s allegedly frivolous infringement claims. The CAFC found the district court had provided “insufficient detail to permit meaningful review.”

Third Circuit Affirms Revised Fair Use Ruling Against ROSS’ AI Legal Research Platform in Sealed Opinion

On Tuesday, news reports indicated that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a ruling under seal affirming the District of Delaware’s grant of partial summary judgment to Canadian technology company Thomson Reuters on its claims that legal artificial intelligence (AI) company ROSS Intelligence infringed upon more than 2,000 copyrighted headnote summaries of U.S. case law from its Westlaw legal research platform.

Senate IP Subcommittee Focuses on Fee-Setting, PTAB Rule in USPTO Oversight Hearing

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires faced the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Tuesday in an oversight hearing pushing for more information on several of the policy changes his administration has put in place. The hearing was the last over which its current Chairman, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), will preside.

USPTO Flowchart for Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations Raises Questions for Practitioners

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued an updated memorandum today addressed to all patent applicants and practitioners that provides a flowchart for analyzing Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs) submitted under 37 C.F.R. Section 1.132 and reviews best practices for submitting them. The memo, from USPTO Director John Squires, is an addendum to an April 2026 SMED memorandum and, according to the USPTO, “this memorandum is consistent with existing USPTO guidance and does not announce any new USPTO practice or procedure.”

The Fight to Fix America’s Patent System | IPWatchdog Unleashed

This week on IPWatchdog Unleashed, IPWatchdog President Renée C. Quinn spoke with Coke Morgan Stewart. Formerly Acting Director and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Stewart is now president and CEO of the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP). Their conversation, recorded at IPWatchdog’s 2026 Women’s IP Forum, examines what she learned while leading the agency, why she believes the patent system needs legislative reform, and how her experience has shaped her approach to leadership and advocacy.

In re Mitchell: Why the Second AI Didn’t Save Him

Using one associate to prepare a claim construction chart and a second to check it is ordinary practice. In In re Brian E. Mitchell, Proceeding No. D2026-16, a patent attorney did the same with two generative AI tools: one to draft proposed claim constructions and a second to review them. Erroneous citations still reached the district court, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO’s) Office of Enrollment and Discipline (OED) publicly reprimanded him for that.

Squires Postpones Anniversary Celebration; Gmail Account Raises New Records Questions

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires has postponed the anniversary celebration scheduled for Tuesday, September 29. In a message sent to invitees from squirescelebration@gmail.com and signed “John,” Squires said his schedule “isn’t cooperating” and called a “rain delay until we can reschedule.” The message provides no new date.

Federal Circuit Upholds PTAB Obviousness Finding in Apple IPR of Speech Recognition Patent

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision on September 25 in Zentian Ltd. v. Apple Inc., affirming a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) final written decision that found all claims of a speech recognition patent unpatentable as obvious. The court rejected Zentian’s challenge to the PTAB’s construction of the term “feature vector” and affirmed the determination that codewords in a prior art reference fall within that term.

FTC Seeks Comment on Proposed Rule to Crack Down on Platform Facilitation of Impersonation Scam Ads

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering whether to impose new requirements on social-media companies, search engines and other online platforms whose advertising systems help impersonation scams reach consumers. In a September 24 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), the FTC requested information about platforms’ ad-optimization tools, financial incentives and efforts to prevent fraudulent advertisers from impersonating government agencies and legitimate businesses.

CAFC Affirms Section 101 Dismissal for Google Over Internet Advertising Patents

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a decision Friday in The Receivership Estate of AudienceScience Inc. v. Google LLC, affirming a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that granted Google LLC and YouTube LLC judgment on the pleadings on patent ineligibility grounds under 35 U.S.C. Section 101.

Other Barks & Bites for Friday, September 25: UPC Will Hear Noninfringement Claim to Pre-Issue Patent; DEFEND IP Act Introduced to Target Foreign Piracy Sites; and Judge Rogers Dissents from D.C. Circuit’s Royalty Allocation Ruling

This week in Other Barks & Bites: Regulatory hurdles lead Oracle to send a force majeure notice related to its New Mexico data center project; the companion bill for the DEFEND IP Act is introduced into the U.S House of Representatives; the European Union Intellectual Property Office announces the first customs enforcement action on a registered CIGI; the Third Circuit finds no material appropriation of copyrightable elements in a case over allegedly copied curriculum between machine learning professors; and more.

Epiq Counsel Client is Seeking a Senior Trademark Paralegal (Global Portfolio | In-House)

Epiq Counsel is actively seeking a Senior Trademark Paralegal with in-house experience to support a leading global pharmaceutical company. This long-term, Indianapolis-based hybrid opportunity offers the chance to work with a high-performing in-house IP legal team.

Epiq Counsel Client is Seeking a Patent Paralegal (Global Portfolio | In-House)

Epiq Counsel client, a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, is seeking an experienced Patent Paralegal (Global Portfolio | In-House) to support its Intellectual Property team on a hybrid basis (3 days/week onsite) out of their offices in Indianapolis. This long-term, Indianapolis based hybrid opportunity offers the chance to work with a high-performing in-house legal team. The ideal candidate will have experience working with domestic and international patent matters and will serve as a key partner to attorneys, patent professionals, foreign associates, and external vendors.

Squires’ Anniversary Celebration Raises Serious Ethical, Legal Questions

IPWatchdog has learned that U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires plans to celebrate one year in office with an event on September 29. To our knowledge, this is the first time a Director has publicly celebrated the one-year anniversary of their appointment. After the original publication of this article Director Squires took to LinkedIn to claim the story was not properly sourced, focusing only on the location of the event. Squires posted: “I dunno there Gene Quinn, time to invest in a new fact-checker. The event’s being held at Ford’s Theater.” The invitation itself (pictured above) clearly and unambiguously says that the event would take place at the Motion Picture Association headquarters. And whether this event takes place at MPA headquarters or Ford’s Theater, questions still remain about who is paying for the event, whether the event is a public USPTO event, what purpose the event will promote, and whether USPTO employees are planning or executing the event.