The U.S. Supreme Court held 8-2 today that the Federal Circuit may no longer ignore some rulings by trial court judges on how to construe patent claims. The outcome marks a major victory for parties that win the often-decisive battles over claim construction in Markman hearings in district court.
Will High Court Curb the Federal Circuit?
A rule that has applied in patent cases since 1998 may go the way of Chevy Cobalt ignition switches.
"Deference, I Don't Have to Show You any Stinkin' Deference" riffed on a line from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), in which Gold Hat, posing as a Mexican Federale, says
Google’s “Street View” Can’t Dodge Patent Claims, Federal Circuit Holds
The Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit erred when he booted patent infringement claims against "Street View", the Google feature that lets you look at images of houses, buildings, and other objects that line streets and highways online.
The mistake came in how Chief Judge Alex Kozinski construed a phrase — "substantially elevations" — that described the
Deference? I Don’t Have to Show You Any Stinkin’ Deference
A crucial part of a patent case involves the Markman hearing. There, the district judge listens to and sees evidence, PowerPoints, blow-ups, claim charts, and arguments that each side puts forward in hopes that Her Honor will choose their version of what the words of the patent claims mean.
You might wonder why they
No Backsies, Federal Circuit Holds; The Rule Against Recapture
Stephen Colbert (courtesy of NPR) explains the meaning of backsies thus:
Mr. COLBERT: Backsies is the technical term for reneging on a previously settled agreement.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. COLBERT: We've all done backsies, asking for the return of your Barbie doll or baseball card. In fact, 50 percent of all American marriages end
District Judge, Sitting on Federal Circuit, Fusses About De Novo Review
U.S. District Judge Ron Clark today used his seat on a Federal Circuit panel as soapbox for speaking out against de novo review of Markman rulings.
In Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996), the Court snatched from juries the task of deciding what operative words in a patent mean. The Court held that