Katherine Pappas
Subscribe to Katherine Pappas's PostsKatherine (Kathy) Pappas focuses her practice on intellectual property matters, particularly in patent litigation within the life sciences sector. Kathy handles matters involving a large variety of technologies, ranging from mechanical inventions (e.g., microfluidic devices; injector pens) to pharmaceutical litigation under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Read Katherine Pappas's full bio.
Google It: Federal Copyright Law Preempts California Causes of Action
By Katherine Pappas on Feb 1, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
Addressing a state law-based challenge to the way search results are displayed on copies of websites, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that copyright preemption precluded a website owner from invoking state law to control how the websites are displayed. Best Carpet Values, Inc. v. Google LLC, Case No. 22-15899 (9th...
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Espresso Yourself: When Prosecution History as a Whole Doesn’t Demonstrate Clear, Unmistakable Disclaimer
By Katherine Pappas on Jan 4, 2024
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s claim construction and related summary judgment rulings after determining that the district court erred in construing a claim term by improperly limiting the plain and ordinary meaning of the term. K-fee System GmbH v. Nespresso USA, Inc., Case No. 22-2042...
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No Need To Be Explicit: Implicit Finding of Expectation of Success Is Sufficient
By Katherine Pappas on Oct 5, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board unpatentability decision, finding that a combination of prior art references only requires an implicit indication of a reasonable expectation of success. Elekta Ltd. v. Zap Surgical Systems, Case No. 21-1985 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 21, 2023) (Reyna, Stoll, Stark JJ.)...
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Should This Be an Alice Two-Step or a Section 112 Enablement Waltz?
By Katherine Pappas on Aug 10, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit for lack of subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 based on an Alice two-step analysis, with Judge Newman filing a sharp dissent focused on “the current law of § 101.” Realtime Data LLC v. Array Networks Inc., Case No. 2021-2251...
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Invoking Generic Need for Claim Construction Won’t Avoid § 101 Dismissal
By Katherine Pappas on Jul 27, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a patent infringement suit on § 101 grounds, rejecting the patentee’s argument that claim construction or discovery was required before assessing patent eligibility. Trinity Info Media, LLC v. Covalent, Inc., Case No. 22-1308 (Fed. Cir. July 14, 2023) (Stoll, Bryson, Cunningham, JJ.) Trinity...
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Under High Pressure: New Mechanism of Action Can’t Save Drug Administration Claims
By Katherine Pappas on Jun 22, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board ruling that method claims reciting a mechanism of action triggered by the co-administration of two known antihypertensive agents were obvious over the cited prior art. In re Couvaras, Case No. 22-1489 (Fed. Cir. June 14, 2023) (Lourie, Dyk, Stoll,...
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Remote Employees Support Patent Venue
By Katherine Pappas on Oct 13, 2022
Posted In Patents
In a per curiam opinion, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to direct the district court to dismiss or transfer the underlying case based on improper venue. In doing so, the Court pointed to remote workers residing in the district to find satisfaction...
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Fee Award Appropriate for Trying to Refresh and Replay Case
By Katherine Pappas on Aug 4, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an attorneys’ fees award after the patent owner brought successive patent infringement suits attempting “to refile to wipe the slate clean” after the first court was poised to issue an adverse merits ruling. Realtime Adaptive Streaming, LLC v. Netflix, Inc., Netflix Streaming Services, Inc., Case...
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The Halo Effect Won’t Cure Lack of Final Judgment
By Katherine Pappas on May 19, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed the appeal of a disappointed movant seeking prejudgment interest and a new damages trial after concluding that the district court did not enter an appealable final order despite closing the case nearly three years before the appeal was filed. Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Bel Fuse...
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Wild and Untamed Trademarks: Madrid Protocol Grants Right of Priority as of Constructive Use Date
By Katherine Pappas on Apr 28, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
Addressing for the first time the question of enforceability of a priority of right in a trademark granted pursuant to the Madrid Protocol where the registrant’s actual use in commerce began after the allegedly infringing use, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that the Madrid Protocol grants priority as of the...
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