Banner Witcoff

On August 24, 2015, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled in favor of firm client LMK Technologies, LLC, declining institution of inter partes reviews on two petitions filed by BLD Services, LLC. The decisions issued in IPR2015-00723 (Paper 7) and IPR2015-00721 (Paper 9). The LMK patents at issue pertain to trenchless…

On August 22, 2015, Banner & Witcoff clients Microsoft Corp. and NIKE Inc. were recognized for their design excellence at the Industrial Designers Society of America’s 2015 International Design Excellence Awards Gala in Seattle. Microsoft received the Silver Award for its Microsoft Start Experience Windows 10 in the Digital Design category. NIKE was honored with…

The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin highlights Helen Hill Minsker’s participation in “Trademark Law and Its Challenges 2015,” the sixth annual symposium presented by The McCarthy Institute for Intellectual Property and Technology Law, the International Trademark Association and Microsoft Corp., on Sept. 26, 2015, in San Francisco. The symposium brings together brand owners, trademark attorneys, and public policymakers…

The July 2015 edition of Managing Intellectual Property features the busiest companies and law firms at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board so far this year. According to the article, “Data: PTAB Petitioners, Patent Owners and Law Firms in the First Half of 2015,” MIP used Docket Navigator to analyze PTAB petitions filed in the first half of 2015…

AKAMAI V. LIMELIGHT: FEDERAL CIRCUIT FINDS DIRECT INFRINGEMENT OF METHOD CLAIMS WHERE STEPS PERFORMED BY OR ATTRIBUTABLE TO SINGLE ENTITY By Jeffrey H. Chang A unanimous en banc Federal Circuit held that, despite some of the claimed method steps being performed by Limelight’s customers, substantial evidence supported the jury’s finding that Limelight directly infringed a method claim because…

Joseph J. Berghammer, Peter D. McDermott, V. Bryan Medlock Jr., Jon O. Nelson, Joseph M. Potenza, Christopher J. Renk, Charles W. Shifley and Bradley C. Wright are listed as leaders in intellectual property law in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Inclusion in Best Lawyers® is based entirely on peer review. The methodology is designed to…

Mr. Porter explains how the Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in Akamai v. Limelight may impact how parties draft patents in the Law360 article, “Limelight case widens scope of direct infringement.” He also discusses how the case may give patent applicants more flexibility in meeting Section 101 of the Patent Act relating to patentable subject matter. Please click here to read the article (subscription required).

SUPREMA, INC. V. ITC: ITC CAN EXCLUDE, UNDER INDUCEMENT THEORY, IMPORTED PRODUCTS THAT ONLY INFRINGE AFTER IMPORTATION By Jeffrey H. Chang On August 10, 2015, an en banc Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that the International Trade Commission’s interpretation of Section 337 was reasonable and therefore that the ITC has the authority to exclude, under a…

THE IMPORT OF ELECTRONIC DATA:  FEDERAL CIRCUIT APPEARS UNLIKELY TO AFFIRM COMMISSION’S JURISDICTION OVER DIGITAL “ARTICLES” By Aaron Bowling The United States International Trade Commission (ITC or Commission) possesses unique powers under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (Section 337). Upon finding that a party engaged in “unfair acts,” e.g., patent or trademark infringement, the ITC issues “exclusion…

THE USPTO ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING SUBJECT MATTER ELIGIBILITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 101 By Brian J. Emfinger On July 30, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office issued additional guidelines for use by USPTO personnel in determining subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. These additional guidelines follow the public comments provided…