Patently-O

One Determination, Two Clocks: Crocs Asks the Supreme Court to Fix ITC Appeal Deadlines

Crocs asks the Supreme Court whether one ITC determination can start two appeal clocks after the Federal Circuit dismissed ...
Patently-O

Patent Docket Heading into the Supreme Court’s Long Conference

Supreme Court patent docket swells with 13 petitions, two more pending, and major fights over IPR review, eligibility, damages, and claim scope.
Patently-O

When the PTAB’s Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Goes Too Far

The Federal Circuit has vacated a PTAB obviousness rejection of a catheter claim, holding that the Board's reading of the claim term "flow barrier" was unreasonably broad. In re Incept LLC, No.
Patently-O

FY2026 Utility Grants by Origin and Continuity

The USPTO will close out FY2026 (which ends September 30) with about 320k utility patent grants, down about 3% from FY2025. Although the total is a bit down this year, an interesting shift here is ...
Patently-O

Making a Proper Determination of Obviousness

Earlier this week, the USPTO published updated examination guidelines regarding obviousness determinations under 35 U.S.C. §103. While these new guidelines are not legally binding, they offer ...
Patently-O

The Federal Circuit’s Antisuit Injunction Decision in Ericsson v. Lenovo has Broader Implications for Global SEP Litigation

The case stems from the dispute between Ericsson and Lenovo over licenses to their respective portfolios of patents essential to the 5G wireless telecommunications standards (standards-essential ...
Patently-O

The Federal Circuit Edits Its Damages Footnote in Constellation Designs v. LG

The “optimization” claims of US8842761 and US10693700 are ineligible under § 101; The “constellation” claims of US11019509 and US11018922 are eligible; The infringement verdict stands (denial of JMOL ...
Patently-O

Supreme Court Takes Up Whether Trademark Strength Belongs to Judge or Jury

As the 2025-2026 term ends, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the strength of a trademark is a question of fact or a question of law. The Court granted certiorari in RiseandShine Corp. v.
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Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk Call for Abolition of “All IP Law”

In a characteristically terse post on X, twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey declared “delete all IP law.” Elon Musk quickly agreed with Dorsey’s statement. It is unclear to me which of these ...
Patently-O

Can Harassment Risk Alone Support Obviousness-Type Double Patenting?

With the USPTO's recent brief, In re Ablynx N.V., No. 2026-1333 (Fed. Cir.) is now teed up for the Federal Circuit to decide the nationwide policy on obviousness-type double patenting. The case ...
Patently-O

Patent Law Year in Review: Top-Nine Topics for 2025

I'm delivering a U.S. patent law year-in-review for the past year or so. Here are Nine of the topics that deserve some focus. 1. The New USPTO under President Trump: The greatest ongoing issue is the ...
Patently-O

USPTO’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy: The Quiet Death of Thaler and the Legal Fiction of Human Inventorship

The Federal Circuit's 2022 decision in Thaler v. Vidal seemed to settle a fundamental question: only natural persons can be inventors under U.S. patent law. But, the bigger near-term question has ...