#patent law

#patent law

Smartrend Manufacturing Group (SMG), Inc. v. Opti-Luxx Inc., No. 2024-1616 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 13, 2025). Writing for a unanimous panel, Judge Dyk reversed a jury verdict finding that Opti-Luxx's illuminated school bus sign infringed SMG's U.S. Patent No. 11,348,491 under the doctrine of equivalents. The appellate court held that no reasonable jury could find the accused product's frame performed the same function as that claimed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Tuesday issued a precedential decision in Duke University v. Sandoz Inc., reversing a judgment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and finding claim 30 of U.S. Patent No. 9,579,270 invalid for lacking an adequate written description. The ruling overturns a $39 million jury verdict finding that Sandoz Inc. infringed the patent owned by Duke University and Allergan Sales, LLC, which covers the eyelash growth drug, LATISSE.

For the past five years, I have taught Legislation & Regulation at Oklahoma City University School of Law-a course at the crossroads of administrative law, statutory interpretation, and the legislative process. Each semester, my students and I return to a central inquiry: when, if ever, should courts defer to agency interpretations, and when must judges exercise their own independent judgment? That question has taken on new urgency in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent restructuring of administrative law.

"If Xerox wanted its more limited construction, it should have written the claims as it did in the substitute claim," said the CAFC.

The Plant Patent Act of 1930 allows for the patenting of newly discovered and asexually reproduced plants, including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and seedlings. It, however, excludes tuber propagated plants and those found in their natural state.

"We see no reason to distinguish between disclaimer by amendment and disclaimer by argument and conclude that a patentee may surrender claim scope of a design patent by its representations to the Patent Office during prosecution."

Wen Xie emphasizes the inevitability of AI's presence in every profession and technology, asserting that resistance is futile in patent drafting and prosecution.

In 2020, Sonos sued Google asserting two wireless speaker patents allowing overlapping groups of speakers. A jury found Google liable and awarded $30 million.

Driscoll's holds significant power in the berry market, not by growing berries directly but through licensing new varieties and enforcing strict patent rights.