Federal Circuit Reveils New Model Order In Patent Cases.

January 31, 2014 by nvantreeck

The Federal Circuit Advisory Council, which advises the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on rules of court and operating procedures, recently unveiled a new model order regarding excess patent claims and prior art.

As highlighted by the council, “There is a consensus that the numbers of asserted claims, claim terms, and prior art references in patent cases are often problematically excessive. Cases with over a hundred asserted claims and over a hundred asserted prior art references during discovery are common. The identification of an unmanageable number of products can be a problem too.”

While many courts already issue orders limiting the number of patent claims and prior art references in patent cases, the model order is intended to provide a systematic approach that can be further tailored to individual cases. “Focusing patent cases to the issues at the core of the dispute will reduce the burden on courts and lower the expense for the parties. In addition, a greater focus on the true issues will improve the quality of the adjudicatory process for all,” the council argues.

The new limits occur at two phases: (1) after production of “core” technical documents but before claim construction, and (2) after claim construction but before expert reports. Below are the basis provisions of the model order:

Not later than 40 days after the accused infringer is required to produce documents sufficient to show the operation of the accused instrumentalities, the patent claimant shall serve a Preliminary Election of Asserted Claims, which shall assert no more than ten claims from each patent and not more than a total of 32 claims. Not later than 14 days after service of the Preliminary Election of Asserted Claims, the patent defendant shall serve a Preliminary Election of Asserted Prior Art, which shall assert no more than twelve prior art references against each patent and not more than a total of 40 references.
Not later than 28 days after the Court issues its Claim Construction Order, the patent claimant shall serve a Final Election of Asserted Claims, which shall identify no more than five asserted claims per patent from among the ten previously identified claims and no more than a total of 16 claims. Not later than 14 days after service of a Final Election of Asserted Claims, the patent defendant shall serve a Final Election of Asserted Prior Art, which shall identify no more than six asserted prior art references per patent from among the twelve prior art references previously identified for that particular patent and no more than a total of 20 references.
If the patent claimant asserts infringement of only one patent, all per-patent limits in this order are increased by 50%, rounding up.

However, within two days of being released, all content on the Federal Circuit Advisory Council webpage was removed and replace with the message “This site is being updated and will be posted soon.” Soon thereafter, the Council webpage was restored with the exception of the two model orders. Instead, the webpage contains the following statement:

“Model orders concerning e-discovery and limitations on claims and prior art were posted on the court’s website. Those orders have now been removed since the court has not sponsored or endorsed the orders. In light of the court’s determination, the advisory council should not be viewed as having sponsored or endorsed these orders on behalf of the court.”

How Can I Help?

If you, or someone you know, need any help with Intellectual Property issues, from filing a patent, trademark or copyright, or just need advice regarding how best to protect your inventions, ideas or your brand, please contact me for a free 30 minute consultation at nvantreeck@usip.com or call TOLL FREE at 1-855-UR IDEAS (1-855-874-3327) and ask for Norman.

– Ex astris, scientia –

I am and avid amateur astronomer and intellectual property attorney in Pasadena, California and I am a Rising Star as rated by Super Lawyers Magazine. As a former Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy, I am a proud member of the Armed Service Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association working to aid all active duty and veterans in our communities. Connect with me on Google +

Norman

Monthly Star Party This Weekend.

January 31, 2014 by nvantreeck

This weekend is the monthly Riverside Astronomical Societies Star party at our dark sky site in Landers, CA.

If you can make out this weekend, we would love to have you come and observe with us.

We have plenty of places to stay and food on Saturday.

If you make it out there, come by and say hi. I’d love to meet you.

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

The FTC To Agressively Pursue Pay-to-Delay Violations.

January 30, 2014 by nvantreeck

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has vowed to take aggressive action after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled favorably on agency’s right to challenge so-called pay-to-delay agreements. However, it is also calling on Congress to move forward with stronger laws prohibiting such settlements.

Pay-to-delay agreements are most common in the pharmaceutical industry where brand name drug makers agree to resolve patent infringement suits against generic drug makers by paying them large financial settlements to refrain from selling the competing drugs for a specified number of years. In Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, Inc., the Supreme Court ruled that pay-to-delay agreements could violate anti-trust laws.

According to the Court, although the anticompetitive effects of the reverse settlement agreement might fall within the scope of the exclusionary potential of the patent, this does not immunize the agreement from antitrust attack. The justices further held that courts reviewing pay-to-delay agreements should proceed by applying the “rule of reason,” rather than under a “quick look” approach, which shifts the burden to the defendant to show empirical evidence of procompetitive effects.

Going forward, the FTC plans to use the precedent to aggressively attack settlements that its sees as anticompetitive, Chairwoman Edith Ramirez told a Senate subcommittee earlier this month. However, she also voiced support for proposed legislation that would formalize the agency’s argument in Actavis. The bill, co-sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), would make pay-to-delay agreements presumptively illegal rather than subject to the rule of reason.

“While the rule of reason standard is an appropriate test and we intend to apply that going forward, I do believe declaring them presumptively invalid would also further help us put a stop to these types of settlements,” Ramirez said.

How Can I Help?

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

What Is It?

January 30, 2014 by nvantreeck

Scientists from the University of Toronto have found an object about 500 light years away that may change what we call a planet or a star.

The image above of the system from the Keck telescope shows the star in the center and ROXs 42Bb orbiting about 150 astronomical units (AU). (1 AU=the distance from Earth to the Sun.)

“We have very detailed measurements of this object spanning seven years, even a spectrum revealing its gravity, temperature, and molecular composition. Still, we can’t yet determine whether it is a planet or a failed star — what we call a ‘brown dwarf’. Depending on what measurement you consider, the answer could be either,” said Thayne Currie, a post-doctoral fellow in U of T’s Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Analysis of ROXs 42Bb’s spectra over time hasn’t helped determine what the object is. Is it a failed star (a brown dwarf) or a large Jupiter? So, it doesn’t quite fit what we know.

Go figure that the Universe wouldn’t adhere to what we want it to. Dang Universe.

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

Copyright Holders Call on Congress for Stronger Protections.

January 29, 2014 by nvantreeck

In the first of several hearings regarding the future of the U.S. copyright system, content creators argued for stronger protections before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. The hearing featured testimony from representatives of the Copyright Alliance, Getty Images Inc., the American Society of Media Photographers, Yep Roc Records and Redeye Distribution Inc., and 3-D moviemaker Stereo D LLC

Congress has recently embarked on a broad review of U.S. copyright laws with the goal of updating the country’s copyright protection scheme. With the exception of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, most other portions of the Copyright Act date back to 1976.

In their testimony before the committee, copyright holders argued that strong protections are needed to combat infringement in the digital age, particularly online piracy.

“Our goal in reviewing licensure laws should be to protect creativity and still allow for an active and intelligent marketplace for searching and licensing creative works,” John Lapham, senior vice president and general counsel of Getty Images, testified. “When we do so we can all benefit from content that moves, inspires, provokes, educates, and encourages.”

Representatives from the music and film industries expressed concerns about file sharing and other forms of piracy. “If an environment exists that does not provide adequate copyright protection and blockbuster films become unaffordable and unprofitable due to the threat of piracy, this new and thriving 3-D industry will be significantly hampered and severely impacted,” said William Sherak, Stereo D’s president. “The reason being that 3-D conversions are normally undertaken on major blockbuster films—the very films that are often the greatest targets of piracy.”

The committee will next meet with representatives of the tech community.

Source: Corporate Counsel

How Can I Help?

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

A New Type Of Camera.

January 29, 2014 by nvantreeck

There ‘s a new kind of camera that I am very excited about.

The Axiom concept camera is an open source hardware camera with interchangeable…well…everything.

Axiom has already built a prototype as a proof of concept.

Comparison Chart: Full Featured Axiom vs Alpha Prototype

	Axiom	Axiom Alpha Prototype
Development	after successful crowdfunding	in progress
Goal	full featured camera	extended proof of concept prototype
Image Sensor	CMV12000	CMV12000
Video Resolution	4K	1920×1080 (downscaled from 4K)
Output	tbd	HDMI
Supported Video Format	uncompressed RAW	RGB
Lens Mount	Interchangeable Mount System	Nikon F-Mount
Frame Rate	up to 150 (4K)	25

The concept module differs from the prototype as would be expected.

So why would astronomers be interested in this? Just the interchangeable sensor alone would make this camera worth buying for me.

The ability to change image sensors and focal distance would make this camera adaptable to any telescope or situation that you may find yourself.

It would also allow beginning astrophotographers to start with a more inexpensive image sensor module and work their way up without having to learn a new system.

For the more experienced astrophotographers, this would enable them to move from a single-shot CMOS imager, for instance, to a monochrome CCD for narrow-band imaging. The possibilities are endless with this camera.

Although this is still in the early stages, with enough funding, this camera can become a reality very shortly. I am very excited about this piece of technology. You can find more information here.

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

A “Sharknado” Clears Woody Ellen Film of Copyright Infringement.

January 28, 2014 by nvantreeck

Sharknado, the Syfy television movie that took Twitter by storm earlier this month, has even made its way into a federal court opinion. A federal judge referenced the disaster movie in a copyright infringement case involving Woody Allen’s film, Midnight in Paris.

“The court has viewed Woody Allen’s movie, ‘Midnight in Paris,’ read the book, ‘Requiem for a Nun,’ and is thankful that the parties did not ask the court to compare ‘The Sound and the Fury’ with ‘Sharknado,'” the opinion states.

The copyright infringement lawsuit against Sony Pictures involved a single line taken from a William Faulkner novel. Owen Wilson’s character says, “The past is not dead. Actually, it’s not even past. You know who said that? Faulkner, and he was right. I met him too. I ran into him at a dinner party.”

While the movie line closely resembles a line from Faulkner’s novel, Requiem for a Nun, Judge Michael P. Mills held that the doctrine of fair use applied. “At issue in this case is whether a single line from a full-length novel singly paraphrased and attributed to the original author in a full-length Hollywood film can be considered a copyright infringement,” Mills wrote. “In this case, it cannot.”

As the judge further explained, “The copyrighted work is a serious piece of literature lifted for use in a speaking part in a movie comedy, as opposed to a printed portion of a novel printed in a newspaper, or a song’s melody sampled in another song. This transmogrification in medium tips this factor in favor of transformative, and thus, fair use.”

How Can I Help?

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

Herschel Finds Water On Ceres.

January 28, 2014 by nvantreeck

Scientists using the Herschel space telescope have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on Ceres.

Ceres is the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt and is classified as a dwarf planet, a solar system body bigger than an asteroid and smaller than a planet.

Photo : CNRS

Scientists think that plumes of water vapor shoot up from Ceres when parts of its surface are warmed by the Sun.

In 2015 the Dawn spacecraft will be able to provide more information, hopefully confirming and expanding the data, when it arrives at Ceres next year.

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

Can U.S. Customs Police Patent Infringement?

January 27, 2014 by nvantreeck

The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection fails to appropriately police imports for patent infringement, according to a recent lawsuit by Microsoft Corp. The company alleges that the agency is allowing Motorola Mobility Inc. to import devices that infringe certain Microsoft patents violation of an order from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Pursuant to a May 2012 ITC order, Motorola Mobility, now owned by Google, infringed a Microsoft patent for generating and synchronizing calendar items. The order also banned any infringing device from entering the United States.

However, according to Microsoft’s complaint, the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) continues to allow infringing devices into the country. “The CBP has allowed the important of infringing devices based on claims that Microsoft made on an ex parte basis, and that CBP has accepted without providing Microsoft with notice of those claims, much less an opportunity to address them,” the complaint alleges.

“Most egregiously, CBP has allowed Motorola to relitigate—in secret—issues that Motorola lost before the Commission, and has granted Motorola precisely the relief that the Commission expressly refused to grant after full, fair, and open litigation,” Microsoft further argues. Meanwhile, Google maintains that Microsoft is seeking to impermissibly expand the scope of the ITC order.

While Microsoft’s allegations against the CBP must be decided in court, the case raises the larger question of whether the agency is equipped to deal with the recent influx of patent infringement cases. As former ITC chairman, Deanna Tanner Okun, told Reuters, the customs bureau may lack the expertise to enforce the orders. “Problems have increased. The system is outdated,” she said. “They’re using practices and procedures that are 20 years old.”

How Can I Help?

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

Commercial Space Programs Expand.

January 27, 2014 by nvantreeck

It comes as no surprise that commercial space programs are expanding at an ever increasing pace. Now the government and NASA are putting unused space program assets to use helping these enterprises along.

NASA will turn over one of its unused space-shuttle launch pads to Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) so that they can set up a second site in Florida.

SpaceX current sends routine re-supply missions to the ISS using its Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX won out over protests from rival space company Blue Origin, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

The Government Accountability Office dismissed Blue Origin’s protest. However, the GAO said NASA could consider renting the launch pad under exclusive or multi-use arrangements for the launch pad.

NASA spends around $100,000 a month to maintain the site, so this agreement will help both NASA and SpaceX.

SpaceX is already launching its Falcon rockets from a leased launch pad at Cape Canaveral and it has a launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

SpaceX’s locations are a little different from other commercial space enterprises that are basing their operations out of the New Mexico spaceport.

– Ex astris, scientia –

Norman

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Astronomy and Law Blog

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Monthly Archives: January 2014

Federal Circuit Reveils New Model Order In Patent Cases.

Monthly Star Party This Weekend.

The FTC To Agressively Pursue Pay-to-Delay Violations.

What Is It?

Copyright Holders Call on Congress for Stronger Protections.

A New Type Of Camera.

Comparison Chart: Full Featured Axiom vs Alpha Prototype

A “Sharknado” Clears Woody Ellen Film of Copyright Infringement.

Herschel Finds Water On Ceres.

Can U.S. Customs Police Patent Infringement?

Commercial Space Programs Expand.