By Lloyd J. Wilson There are unlimited examples of how businesses, organizations, and other entities are incentivized to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve operations and performance. Thus, it is expected that, like any other entity, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) would also be interested in using AI to improve its…
By Aleksandar Nikolic In KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), the Supreme Court indicated that general knowledge of a person having skill in the art may be used as part of an obviousness analysis. However, courts have been reluctant to apply “general knowledge” or “common sense” to an obviousness analysis because…
By Wayne F. Reinke In this update to my prior articles on the state of patentable subject matter in the wake of the Supreme Court Alice decision, CAFC decisions in 2019 identified as precedential and involving abstract ideas (computer-related inventions) are considered. The two-part Alice test for patentable subject matter starts by determining whether the…
By Stephen P. Scuderi Any person or organization that has accepted government funds for research and development has been touched by the Bayh-Dole Act. Bayh-Dole addresses the rights to inventions made in the performance of federally funded agreements and is implemented by title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations parts 401 and 404 (37 CRF…
By Aleksandar Nikolic The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the courts have had difficulty determining whether computer, software and diagnostic method inventions qualify as patentable subject matter. Now, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) has expanded the subject matter confusion to include claims in the electrical and mechanical arts….
By Lloyd J. Wilson The idea that machines, rather than humans, could invent something on their own is a concept that was once thought to be a futuristic fantasy. However, the U.S. patent office is now being confronted with patent applications listing an artificial intelligence (AI) system as the inventor. Existing U.S. patent laws seem…
By Stephen P. Scuderi This article will present an overview of some of the issues pertaining to the disposition of patent rights to inventions made under a government R&D contract. As will be seen, without careful adherence to the statutes and regulations governing such patent rights, it is possible for a contractor to unintentionally lose…
By Kristian Ziegler As more than half of the states in the U.S. have recently decriminalized cannabis/marijuana to some extent, the domestic cannabis business has been growing rapidly. As of the date of this publication, marijuana is legal for medical use in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and for recreational use in 11…
By Wayne F. Reinke It has been about nine months since my last patentable subject matter (aka “Alice”) update, tracking cases and other important information in the wake of the Alice Supreme Court decision. Things continue to improve at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and with examination at the U.S. Patent and…
By Thomas L. Sica Inherent within American contract law is the freedom to contract — i.e., the ability to negotiate and agree to any terms that the parties see fit for any given contract. Contract terms will only be deemed void under special circumstances, such as unconscionability, unenforceability or, in some cases, due to statutory…