Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

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Are Companies Acting as Government Contractors Immune From Patent Infringement Suits?

  • The CAFC, in Zoltek Corp. v. United States, No. 2009-5135 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 14, 2012), Zoltek was the assignee of a patent for manufacturing carbon fiber sheets with controlled surface electrical resistivity. The carbon fiber at issue was used by Lockheed Martin to build the F-22 fighter jet, pursuant to a government contract. The manufacturing of the fibers started in Japan, and thereafter imported into the US, where the fibers were processed into sheets and used for F-22.

    The court held that when the US is subject to suit under 28 USC 1498(a) for alleged infringement of a patent by a contractor acting by and for the US, the contractor by law is rendered immune from individual liability for the alleged infringement. The court further held that, when a product of a patented process is… imported into the US by or for the US, there is direct infringement under a 1498 action. (In addition the US waives sovereign immunity) Opinion

    28 USC 1498

    • (a) Whenever an invention described in and covered by a patent of the United States is used or manufactured by or for the United States without license of the owner thereof or lawful right to use or manufacture the same, the owner's remedy shall be by action against the United States in the United States Court of Federal Claims for the recovery of his reasonable and entire compensation for such use and manufacture.
    • (c)The provisions of this section shall not apply to any claim arising in a foreign country.

USPTO Will Admit 10 Additional Schools into its Patent Law Clinic Certification Pilot Program

  • The Pilot Program started began in 2008 with 6 schools and expanded in 2010 to 16 schools. Students in the patent program can expect to draft and file a patent application and respond to an office action. Each law school clinical program must meet and maintain the requirements for USPTO certification in order for student practitioners to practice before the USPTO. The program provides real-world experience to students interested in the field of IP. Submissions will be accepted through June 1, 2012. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Hoffmann & Baron is seeking a patent attorney/agent with a minimum of 3-5 years of experience in the areas of computers and business methods to work in their Parsippany, NJ office. [Link]
  • Faegre Baker Daniel's is searching for a patent agent with a degree in EE or CS and patent experience to work in their Chicago office. [Link]
  • Larson Newman is looking for patent attorneys with an EE degree and 3-5 years of experience to work in their Austin office. [Link]
  • Akerman Senterfitt is seeking a chemical patent associate with 1-3 years of experience to work in their Denver office. [Link]
  • Gilead Sciences is searching for patent litigation counsel with a BS in life sciences and 5-8 years of experience to work at their Foster City, CA office. [Link]
  • Carlson, Gaskey & Olds is looking for a patent attorney with 4-8 years of patent litigation experience to work at their Birmingham, MI office. [Link]
  • Klarquist Sparkman is seeking a litigation associate with 1-2 years of experience to work in their Portland office. [Link]
  • Klarquist Sparkman is seeking a patent attorney/agent with an advanced degree in organic chemistry and 3+ years of experience to work in their Portland office. [Link]
  • Cardinal Intellectual Property is looking for a patent search professional with a JD degree and a technical degree to work remotely. [Link]
  • Berkeley Lab is searching for a patent attorney with at least 5 years of experience as a patent attorney/agent. [Link]
  • Faegre Baker Daniels is seeking a trademark litigation associate with 2-3 years of trademark and copyright litigation experience to work in their Minneapolis office. [Link]
  • Cardinal Intellectual Property is looking for a patent search attorney to work at their Evanston, IL location. [Link]
  • Wellstat Management Company is searching for a patent attorney/agent with at least 5 years of experience and a background in biomedical or mechanical engineering to work at their Gaithersburg, MD location. [Link]
  • Stroock
  • Faegre Baker Daniels is looking for a junior patent litigation associate with 1-2 years of experience to work in their Denver or Boulder office. [Link]
  • Nixon & Vanderhye is searching for a patent attorney/agent with experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications to work in their Arlington, VA office. [Link]
  • The DuPont Company is seeking patent agents with experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications under USPTO TC1600 to work at their Wilmington, DE location. [Link]
  • Covidien is looking for an IP attorney with 4-6 years of experience to work at their New Haven, CT location. [Link]
  • Hagens Berman is searching for a patent litigation attorney with 3+ years of experience to work at their Seattle office. [Link]
  • The USPTO is seeking patent examiners with an engineering degree to work at their Alexandria or Detroit locations. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • On April 10th join the United States Patent and Trademark Office Managers, Design Examiners, Design Patent Practitioners and Industrial Designers from across the country in a lively and thought-provoking discussion at the USPTO. They will discuss rules and techniques relating to proper graphic descriptions of design patent claims, confer on best practices aimed at the broadest protection of industrial designs in the United States, and hear from members of the design community on the importance of strong industrial design protection in an increasingly design-conscious world. [Link]
  • The IP Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and Georgia State University Law School will hold its 8th annual SpringPosium at the Barnsley Gardens resort on April 13 &14. Some example seminars will include: the new America Invents Act, Federal Court best practices, IP law and life practice management, and recent developments in damages law. Guest speakers include: Clerk of Court and Chief Deputy Clerk of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Jan Horbaly and Pamela Twiford and Clerk of Court of the US District Court for the North District of Georgia, James Hatten.
  • The European Generic Medicines Association is hosting the 10th EGA International Symposium regarding Biosimilar Medicines on April 19-20 in London. Greenblum & Bernstein is providing a pre-symposium workshop on April 19, 2012 titled: Biosimilars In America: IP Strategy and Due Diligence. The workshop will explore the mechanics of the Biologics Act with an emphasis on how the Act relates to the involved intellectual property and how the intellectual property may impact the biosimilar applicant's strategy for entering the market. [Link]
  • The University of Colorado School of Law will hold a conference on April 24th. The conference, Patents on the Range or Wild Frontier, will discuss the future of patent policy. Guest speakers include: David Kappos, Don Rosenberg, John Thorne, Paul Ohm, Bernard Chao, and many others. [Link]
  • ACI will hold its 6th Annual Paragraph IV Disputes conference on April 24-25 in New York City. The conference will cover topics such as: the impact of the AIA on Hatch-Waxman litigation, claim construction, prior art obviousness and obvious-type double patenting, and many other topics. (Patently-O readers register with PO 200 for a discount). [Link]
  • The World Research Group is holding its 4th Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum on May 16-17 in NYC. The Corporate IP Counsel Forum will address key issues and uncover latest developments related to IP in the form of case studies and panel discussions. Some of the topics include, but are not limited to: The America Invents Act and its impact on patent litigation and prosecution, IP monetization strategies for small and mid-size companies, Patent valuation, The top 10 most influential court cases in IP this year, Patent eligibility, Invention mining, Divided infringement, Best practices for combating non-practicing entities, Appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Copyright infringement. [Link]
  • The Annual DRI Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Seminar will be held May 16-18, 2012, in New York City. Attendees will learn trial and appellate advocacy skills in business litigation get up-to-date on the last trends in intellectual property and business litigation, and network with in-house counsel, business and intellectual property trial lawyers and experts from across the country. Speakers include: Former ABA President, Dennis W. Archer, Dennis Archer PLLC, and David Leitch, VP and General Counsel of Ford Motor Company. [Link]
  • The San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association is hosting its annual seminar in Healdsburg, the center of one of California's best wine regions, from June 1-3. Speakers include Hon. Margaret A. (Peggy) Focarino, USPTO Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Robert Stoll, former USPTO Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Gerard F. Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge of the TTAB, Hon. Randy R. Rader, Chief Judge of Federal Circuit, Hon. Susan Illston, Judge of N.D.CA, Hon. Edward J. Davila, Judge of N.D.CA, as well as professors and leading practitioners. [Link]
  • On May 21-22 Ronald Slusky will hold a seminar in Chicago, the seminar teaches a comprehensive approach to analyzing inventions and capturing them in a sophisticated set of patent claims. The seminar is based on Ronald's book, Invention Analysis and Claiming: Patent Lawyer's Guide. [Link]
  • ACI will hold a Biosimilars conference May 22-23 in New York, NY. The conference will focus on the legal, regulatory, and commercial realities of biosimilars. [Link]

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

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