Fresh From the Bench: Latest Precedential Patent Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

Vascular Solutions LLC v. Medtronic, Inc., Appeal No. 24-1398
(Fed. Cir. Sept. 16, 2024)

In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit evaluated certain heavily litigated claims directed to guide catheters. The patents all claimed a “substantially rigid portion/segment,” but the claims were drafted so different portions of the catheters satisfied the “substantially rigid portion/segment” claim term. The district court, finding the claims “mutually exclusive,” found the claim term indefinite, and thus all the asserted claims were indefinite as well. In a precedential decision, the Federal Circuit reversed.

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ALSO THIS WEEK

Astellas Pharma, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., Appeal No. 23-2032 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 18, 2024)

In an appeal from a decision by a trial court that had found claims invalid pursuant to Section 101, the Federal Circuit reversed. The claims at issue were directed to pharmaceuticals. The defendants had never raised Section 101 as a defense. In the run-up to trial, lead defendant Sandoz agreed to limit its invalidity defenses to those arising under Section 112. After trial, the district court, sua sponte (that is, on its own), held the claims were directed to a natural law, and found them invalid under section 101.

The full opinion can be found here.

Editors:

Nika Aldrich, IP Litigation Group Leader, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C.

Jason A. Wrubleski, Shareholder