 |
*SOURCE CODE COMMANDS ARE NOT HEARSAY
Definitive Holdings v. Powerteq, 24-1761 — Yesterday in an opinion by Judge CUNNINGHAM, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court summary judgment that Definitive’s patent for a method of upgrading engine control software was invalid under pre-America Invents Act 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). Definitive argued source code of alleged prior art was inadmissible hearsay and did not fall within the business records exception.
The Federal Circuit disagreed. Powerteq had relied on testimony describing the source code to prove the alleged prior art embodied the claims of Definitive’s patent. The actual source code commands were not offered for their truth and were not hearsay. Unlike the printed source code in Wi-Lan Inc. v. Sharp Electronics Corp., there were no inconsistencies within or added commentary to the source code, creating no concerns about evidence’s trustworthiness.
(1 to 4 stars rate impact of opinion on patent & trademark law)
|
*PRE-TRIAL STIPULATION PROPERLY ESTABLISHED U.S. NEXUS UNDER SECTION 271
VLSI Tech. LLC v. Intel Corp., 24-1772 — Yesterday in an opinion by Chief Judge MOORE, the Federal Circuit reversed a district court summary judgment that Intel did not infringe VLSI’s patents for choosing cores of a multicore processor to execute certain tasks. VSLI argued the district court erroneously concluded that the parties’ pre-trial stipulation did not establish the U.S. nexus required under 35 U.S.C. § 271 because the claims-at-issue were not infringed in the U.S.
The Federal Circuit agreed. The stipulation’s “plain and unambiguous language” stated that “for all accused Intel products and activities determined to meet the technical requirements of the asserted claims, 70% will automatically be treated as having a U.S. nexus for infringement purposes” and required that the “technical requirement determination be conducted ‘without regard to geographic considerations.’” The district court’s reasoning directly contradicted the stipulation, which, on its face, established a U.S. nexus under section 271. VSLI’s interpretation did not contradict the stipulation’s assertion that it was not an admission of infringement, as establishing a U.S. nexus was merely a fact relevant to infringement.
(1 to 4 stars rate impact of opinion on patent & trademark law)
 |
TODAY ON THE IP CHAT CHANNEL™: EXPLORING THE SCOPE OF ECOFACTOR V. GOOGLE
Join the IP Chat Channel™ today at 1:00pm ET for a webinar that will focus on last May’s decision in EcoFactor v. Google that has been widely recognized for its discussion of district courts’ gatekeeping role under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert, especially in relation to expert testimony regarding patent damages. This webinar will examine the potential impact of EcoFactor in relation to issues the en banc court did not specifically address, such as apportionment.
 |
IP Chat Channel™ webinars are free for IPO members. Advance registration is required. CLE offered in most states.
AI TOOLS FOR IP PROFESSIONALS TO BE DISCUSSED AT IPO’S EUROPEAN PRACTICE COMMITTEE CONFERENCE IN FRANKFURT – 28 MAY
For the 13th year, IPO’s European Practice Committee is organizing a conference entitled “Watch Your Words – Claim Interpretations, Estoppel, Information Sharing, Chat Bots and Much More.” The 2026 event will take place on May 28 at Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten in Frankfurt, Germany. BENJAMIN RUCKERT (Bardehle Pagenberg) will moderate a panel discussion on AI tools for IP professionals. Speakers include JASMIN JANTSCHY (Cargill), REBECCA MUELLER (SAP SE), ÅSA RIBBE, Principal Director Search & Patent Grant Process Products (European Patent Office), and TOM TURNER (Abel + Imray). They will discuss the different types of AI tools available to IP practitioners, providing practical experiences with such tools as used by the EPO, in private practice, and by in-house counsel. Additional program topics include information sharing; updates from recent EU IP files; claim construction; and doctrine of equivalents, waiver and estoppel. Visit the conference website for more information or to register.