Cecilia Choy, PhD
Subscribe to Cecilia Choy, PhD's PostsCecilia Choy, PhD, focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation and transactional matters. Read Cecilia Choy's full bio.
APA compliant? Board’s use of invalidity basis not raised in IPR petition may be harmless
By Cecilia Choy, PhD and Lisette Donewald on Sep 17, 2026
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that the Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s use of a reference that was not urged by the petitioner in an inter partes review (IPR) petition was harmless since the Court agreed with the Board’s analysis and conclusion that all challenged claims were unpatentable as obvious...
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Now you know the limits on patent rights: Diversion of resources doesn’t establish standing
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Sep 3, 2026
Posted In Patents
Concluding that an organization cannot establish standing to seek prospective relief merely by alleging that it diverted resources in response to challenged conduct, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal of claims brought by inventor-advocacy organizations challenging language on the cover of issued patents because the organizations lacked both organizational and...
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Manufactured host cells markedly different from naturally occurring cells may be patent eligible
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Mar 5, 2026
Posted In Life Sciences, Patents
Addressing subject matter eligibility in the life sciences context, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s summary judgment ruling that certain claims directed to genetically engineered host cells were patent ineligible as directed to a natural phenomenon. The Federal Circuit found that the claimed cells contained recombinant nucleic acid...
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Institution decisions off limits: Federal Circuit rejects mandamus petitions based on due process, “settled expectations”
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Dec 18, 2025
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied mandamus relief to three petitioners after the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denied inter partes review (IPR) institution. The Court explained that Congress insulated the Director’s discretion from judicial review by making IPR institution determinations final and nonappealable, and that 35 U.S.C. §...
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Solidarity: Union’s commercial use may be Lanham Act violation
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Sep 18, 2025
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s dismissal of a Lanham Act action, finding that this case was not the rare instance where there was no plausible likelihood that a reasonably prudent consumer would be confused about the origin of the goods that allegedly bore the distinctive...
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Identical or not? Jury can’t decide issues of claim construction
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Aug 21, 2025
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of noninfringement, finding that the jury’s infringement findings were unsupported by sufficient evidence and that the district court had improperly delegated claim construction to the jury. Laboratory Corp. of America...
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No Blank Check: Vendor Can’t Claim Declaratory Judgment From Customer Lawsuits Alone
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Jun 18, 2025
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a declaratory judgment action, explaining that declaratory judgment jurisdiction does not “arise merely on the basis that a party learns of the existence of a patent owned by another or even perceives such a patent to pose a risk of...
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No APA Review of Commission Refusal to Issue Sua Sponte Show Cause Order
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Mar 27, 2025
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging a US International Trade Commission decision that upheld an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) order, ruling that such an order was within the Commission’s discretion and unreviewable. Realtek Semiconductor Corp. v. International Trade Commission, Case No. 23-1095 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 18, 2025) (Moore,...
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Equity Is Neither a “Good” Nor a “Service” Under Lanham Act
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Jan 16, 2025
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision that, in terms of trademark use in commerce, corporate equity is not a “good” or “service” under the Lanham Act. LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, PC v. LegalForce, Inc., Case No. 23-2855 (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 2024) (Thomas, Wardlaw, Collins, JJ.) (Collins, J.,...
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Battle of the Bay: It’s Oakland Airport, Not San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport
By Cecilia Choy, PhD on Dec 5, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US District Court for the Northern District of California granted the city and county of San Francisco a preliminary injunction enjoining the Port of Oakland from using the name or trademark “San Francisco Bay Oakland Airport” based on the strength of San Francisco’s mark and the proximity of goods and services. City and County...
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