Leveraging Latest Patent Decisions, Navigating New Complexities, Cases to Watch in 2017

Patent counsel must stay up-to-date and understand the significant developments over the past year in patent cases. For example, the Supreme Court issued important decisions, ruling on the Patent Office’s approach of applying the BRI standard to interpret patent claims and addressing the standard for awarding enhanced damages. The Federal Circuit also provided important guidance on patent eligibility and reviewability of PTAB decisions.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Nov. 2016 in two patent cases. The first is Samsung Electronics v. Apple, where the Court ruled in December that the term ‘article of manufacture’ as used in the context of design patent damages encompasses both a product sold to a consumer and a component of that product, potentially limiting some damages awards. The second case is SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products, where the Court faces a question as to the extent to which the defense of laches may bar a patent infringement claim, if at all.

The PTAB also issued precedential decisions addressing additional discovery, the one-year time bar and substitute claims, among other issues.

Listen as our panel of patent attorneys provides an analysis of the latest and most important Supreme Court, Federal Circuit and PTAB decisions in 2016. The panel will provide insight into the impact of those decisions and offer best practices for handling patent cases. The panel will also discuss the cases to watch in 2017.

1. Key PTAB decisions
2. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions
3. What the decisions mean for future cases
4. Best practices in light of recent decisions
5. What to watch for in 2017

The panel will review these and other key issues:

• How was Cuozzo decision affected claim construction and reviewability?
• How will the district courts apply the new standard for enhanced damages?
• How are the courts applying the framework for patent eligibility created in Alice Corp.?