Fresh From the Bench: Latest Federal Circuit Court Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

John Bean Technologies Corporation v. Morris & Associates, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2020-1090, -1148 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 19, 2021)

Our Case of the Week this week focuses on the doctrine of intervening rights, a doctrine that is rarely visited by the Federal Circuit. In this case, the Court addressed the question whether equitable intervening rights can apply even after a party has recouped its investment in the infringing technology.

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By: Nika F. Aldrich

ALSO THIS WEEK

Canfield Scientific, Inc. v. Melanoscan, LLC, Appeal No. 2019-1927 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 18, 2021)

On appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, the Court reversed and remanded the Board’s ruling that the claims of the patent at issue were patentable. Canfield Scientific, Inc. instituted an inter partes review of Melanoscan, LLC’s patent related to a device for imaging of body surfaces to detect health and cosmetic conditions asserting unpatentability on the ground of obviousness. The Court held that the Board erred in finding the subject matter of the independent claims of the patent at issue would not have been obvious in light of the combined teachings of the prior art of record. Accordingly, the Court reversed the Board’s ruling that the independent claims were patentable and remanded the dependent claims to the Board because the Board did not reach the issue of whether the dependent claims were patentable in its ruling.

A copy of the opinion can be found here.

By: Bazsi Takacs

Edited by: Scott D. Eads and Nika Aldrich, Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt

Contributor: Bazsi Takacs