Key US IP Rulings
US Tribunals Issue Five Patent and Trademark Rulings Involving Major Tech and Healthcare Companies
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Several courts and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board issued rulings in intellectual-property disputes. The Federal Circuit upheld a finding that claims in Zentian’s speech-recognition patent were obvious, while the board separately found claims in Willow Blossom and Willow Innovations’ wearable breast-pump patent obvious over prior art. In other patent cases, courts granted Teva and Apotex summary judgment of non-infringement in a dispute over tasimelteon treatment methods and approved a consent judgment resolving Momcozy’s breast-pump patent dispute with Chiaro, with the parties releasing their claims. A North Carolina court also ruled that consumers were unlikely to confuse Sturm, Ruger’s “Sfar” firearm mark with FN’s “Scar” mark.
Key Points
1
Apple brought the inter partes review of Zentian’s speech-recognition patent; the Federal Circuit said Zentian had not shown that the PTAB erred in its claim construction.
2
The PTAB found Willow’s breast-pump claims obvious over combinations of prior art that included a breastshield unit, a system for expressing human breast milk, and a vented breast-fitting funnel.
3
In the tasimelteon case, the court concluded Teva and Apotex neither practiced the claimed treatment methods nor induced or contributorily infringed them.
4
The Momcozy–Chiaro consent judgment released not only patent-infringement claims but also claims involving breach of contract, tortious interference, and unfair competition.
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