by Kathleen Lynch | Feb 23, 2016 | IP Management, Patent Prosecution
In Transweb LLC v. 3M Innovative Properties Company & 3M Company, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s finding that 3M was liable for antitrust violations in that 3M was found to have obtained its patent through inequitable conduct and subsequently sought to enforce the patent. As a result of 3Ms behavior in both acquiring and enforcing the patent, the appellate court awarded treble attorneys’ fees which came to about $26 million.
The patents at issue focus on filter material used in respirators for construction workers etc. Transweb had developed a new filter material similar to the 3M subject patents. The Federal Circuit found the 3M patents were invalid based on evidence indicating that Transweb’s president distributed samples of their new filter material at a trade show more than a year before 3M filed patent applications covering their new filter material. The finding of inequitable conduct was confirmed because the evidence indicated 3M knew of Transweb’s prior distribution, and did not properly disclose it to the US Patent and Trademark Office as required.
The court then found that 3M’s enforcement of their patent against Transweb constituted an antitrust violation as an abuse of the legal process and awarded Transweb’s attorneys’ fees for defending against 3M’s lawsuit. In justifying the award, the court stated that the attorneys fees were appropriate because they flowed directly from “3M’s unlawful act [of] bringing suit based on a patent known to be fraudulently obtained.” In awarding treble attorneys’ fees, the court indicated that the enhanced award was justified because the suit brought by 3M forced Transweb to either cease competition in the market or expend money to defend itself.
What’s the take away here? When preparing and prosecuting a patent application, ensure that your organization meets all requirements with regarding to disclosure to the US Patent Office. This requires diligence and educating all involved in the process. Sometimes that can include sales, marketing, and business development personnel as well as R&D and manufacturing.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Jan 26, 2016 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation
An article today in Bloomberg.com discussed the formation of a new consortium: IP Europe. The consortium is made up of some of Europe’s largest intellectual property stakeholders. These include Ericsson, Airbus, French phone company Orange SA and train manufacturer Alstom.
IP Europe plans to lobby the European Commission in hopes to make it easier for European based companies to compete with the US and China and other countries to capitalize on their innovations. The group will concentrate on key industry patents which through industry standardization become necessary for all industry participants. These tend to provide continuously decreasing revenues over time.
The new IP Europe consortium will be headed by former EU Commission Official Morgens Peter Carl.
Protecting and enforcing your intellectual property is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Jan 18, 2016 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation
Last month President Obama awarded the National Medals of Science, as well as the National Medals of Technology and Innovation to a number of recipients. Among the recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation was a UNC professor, Joseph DeSimone.
Mr. DeSimone is the founder of Carbon3D. He has taken a sabbatical from UNC to focus on his company which is developing new 3D printing technology.
The Carbon3D process, referred to as CLIP, is a chemical process the uses light and oxygen to eliminate the mechanical steps used in standard 3D printing. The process projects light through an oxygen-permeable window into a bed of UV curable resin. The object is lifted out of the resin bath as it is grown. The process enables the 3D printing speeds to increase substantially and enhance the quality as well. Check out their video.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Dec 10, 2015 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation
A recent article in Bloomberg News poses the question: do we already have the technology needed to solve global warming? Representatives from all over the world are finishing up in Paris trying to agree on climate accord. Entrepreneurs and investors are ready to tackle the challenges regardless.
Wealthy donors agreed to invest $2 billion for development in the area of clean energy research. Twenty of the world’s largest economies agreed to increase their R&D spending on new energy by at least 200%. Clean-energy patents have significantly increased in the US in recent years.
The recent focus on climate saving technology and the need to reduce global warming has reopened the divide between two schools of thought: should we invent new technologies or deploy effective ideas that already exist?
One clean-energy entrepreneur Jigar Shah submits that all of the technology needed to solve the global warming crisis is already here. Some technologies include sharing economy businesses such as Uber and Airbnb, but others include companies that reward good behavior or that make wearable sensors that interact with a smartphone to report air quality in the immediate vicinity.
One of Pure Energy’s managing partners, Nicholas Eisenberger, states that there’s an “unloved, unnoticed tech center that’s up and coming and that can do a big part of the job, too. Why isn’t there more attention to this?”
Capitalizing on innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
by Kathleen Lynch | Dec 2, 2015 | Innovation, IP Management
For years now western countries have been complaining about the lack of enforcement of intellectual property laws in China. Well, that may be changing if this recent case is any indicator. A Chinese company has recently sued Apple for patent infringement on a number of different patents it has amassed in its patent portfolio.
Chinese company BYD has sued Apple and five other companies in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court for patent infringement related to the antennae in the iPhone 6 as well as other technology. BYD has asked the court to order Apple to stop manufacture and assembly of the iPhones as a result of the alleged infringement.
BYD has stated that it owns over 12,000 patents in China and roughly 8000 internationally. This infringement suit against Apple could be critical to Apple’s ability to manufacture phones and other Apple products in China. China is where a significant majority of Apple products are made. This action may seriously hamper Apple’s manufacturing and supply chain and may force it to diversify its manufacturing and assembly sites worldwide.
What’s the take away here? BYD has managed to create a significant patent portfolio and is positioned itself to challenge Apple. Any intellectual property portfolio must be managed in a strategic way so as to meet the business goals of the organization.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at [email protected].
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