UPDATED FEB. 20 & MAR. 2
Hope all our readers in Texas have held up OK during the deep freeze; we know it’s been very tough for a lot of people.
Given the weather-related VLSI–Intel adjournment, there was perhaps less Waco Division-related excitement than we originally expected this week, but we still saw some interesting coverage.
But first, one more mini-update re: next week’s VLSI–Intel trial proceedings: On February 16, the Court issued an Order Regarding Sealed Proceedings (ECF No. 427), which we reproduce here in full:
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court is permitting the trial proceedings in the above case to be accessed by the public and remote party representatives either virtually or telephonically. Additionally, the Court has granted the parties’ request to have a real-time feed of the Court Reporter’s transcript to be accessed remotely as well. This poses risks to sealed portions of the trial, so the Court hereby ORDERS that anyone not permitted to observe the sealed portions of the trial to disconnect from all of the above feeds as they occur. The Courtroom Deputy will monitor those in attendance and alert the Court of anyone not permitted.
So if you’re tuning in via telephone next week, be sure to pay attention to when you’re supposed to vacate the premises. (And/or stay tuned for further related developments on remote-observation protocols, which we understand may be forthcoming…)
Here’s this week’s media coverage of the Waco Division:
- Ryan Davis of Law360 interviewed Joe regarding the recent series of mandamus rulings involving certain of Judge Albright’s rulings on Section 1404 convenience-transfer motions (which of course we’ve previously covered in depth on the blog): Fed. Circ. Rebukes Put Spotlight On Albright Transfer Rulings (subscription required)
- Also writing in Law360, Pauline Pelletier, Deborah Sterling, and Anna Phillips of Sterne Kessler examine How West Texas Patent Trial Speed Affects PTAB Denials (subscription required)
- UPDATE MAR. 2: A version of this article appears on Sterne Kessler’s website
- McDermott Will & Emery’s “The Jury Returns” blog previewed the VLSI-Intel trial: In West Texas, the Jury Will Return
- Matthew Bultman of Bloomberg Law did, too: Intel, VLSI Set for Texas Courtroom Showdown in Patent Jury Trial
- And then covered the weather-related delays: Intel’s Texas Patent Trial Delayed as Winter Storm Worsened (subscription required)
- As did Cara Bayles at Law360: Winter Storms Bring New Tangle For Texas Courts, Firms (subscription required)
- Tiffany Hu of Law360 has continuing coverage of SK hynix’s renewed mandamus petition before the Federal Circuit, and Netlist’s opposition thereto: Albright Was Right To Deny Transfer Bid, Fed. Circ. Told (subscription required)
- And Katie Buehler of Law360 has continuing coverage of the briefing on Intel’s emergency motion to continue the date of next week’s scheduled VLSI trial: VLSI Calls Intel’s Bid To Push Patent Trial To April ‘Baseless’ (no subscription required, given COVID-related content)
- UPDATE FEB. 20: We would be remiss in not also mentioning Scott Graham’s coverage on Law.com of Intel’s motion to continue, along with a similar motion filed by Apple in connection with its March trial in the EDTX: Citing COVID Variants, Apple, Intel Make 1 Last Pitch for Patent Trial Postponements (subscription required)
- Both MV3-Roku and VLSI-Intel receive brief mentions in this writeup on Law360 from Dabney Carr, Dustin Ferzacca and Andrew Tseng of Troutman Pepper regarding How The Pandemic Is Shaping Patent Trials In District Courts (no subscription required, given COVID-related content)
And here are a few other links of potential interest:
- Adriana L. Burgy; Jill K. MacAlpine, Ph.D.; and Stacy Lewis of Finnegan Henderson’s Prosecution First blog cover the continuing post-AIA importance of Record-Keeping and Proving Inventorship
- Speaking of inventorship, Kate Gaudry, Rodney H. Rothwell, Aarti Shah, and Dario A. Machleidt of Kilpatrick Townsend cover the issue of non-human (i.e., AI) inventors, in connection with the Thaler v. Iancu litigation currently pending before the E.D. Va.: The Time is Now: Opportunities to Advise the E.D. Va. or EPO as to Whether to Prohibit, Permit, or Require Listing an AI Algorithm as an Inventor
- Coverage of this issue appears limited as of this writing, but Xiaomi has apparently filed a formal challenge in a French court, requesting that ETSI exclude all patents owned by Philips from being declared essential to ETSI’s UMTS/3G and 4G/LTE standards. Charlotte Kilpatrick of Managing IP has coverage, based on “an email from ETSI to its members that was leaked to Managing IP”: Xiaomi stalling for time with ETSI suit (preview/summary available at link; subscription required for full article)
- Over on IPWatchdog, former FTC GC Alden Abbott of the Mercatus Center takes a deep-dive look back at the outgoing Trump DOJ’s “New Madison Approach” to the intersection of IP and antitrust: The New Madison Approach and the Harmonization of Antitrust and Patent Law: A Retrospective Summary
So as we said following last week’s roundup, we’ll see you next week with coverage of VLSI-Intel! Hopefully this time it’s true…
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Disclaimer: We share these links because we think they’re worth reading. Our doing so does not necessarily imply that we endorse any of the viewpoints expressed by the authors (unless we’re the authors).
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