Sarah J. Fischer
Subscribe to Sarah J. Fischer's PostsSarah J. Fischer focuses her practice on intellectual property patent litigation and patent licensing disputes, particularly for life-science, pharmaceutical and high-tech clients, in district court and before the PTAB, on behalf of both patent holders and defendants/petitioners. She handles all facets of pretrial discovery, case management and trial preparations. Sarah also counsels clients on due diligence, pre-suit matters and claim drafting strategies. Read Sarah Fischer's full bio.
See Here: No Standing Based on Vague Future Plans or Adverse Priority Findings
By Sarah J. Fischer on Nov 16, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from a final written decision in an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding, finding that the petitioner lacked standing because it suffered no injury in fact. Allgenesis Biotherapeutics Inc. v. Cloudbreak Therapeutics, LLC, Case No. 22-1706 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 7, 2023) (Moore, Stoll, Cunningham,...
Continue Reading
In Good Hands: Compilation of Publicly Available Information Can Still Be a Trade Secret
By Sarah J. Fischer on Sep 21, 2023
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court decision, finding that a compilation of customer-related information, even if publicly available, is a protectable trade secret. Allstate Insurance Co. v. Fougere, Case No. 22-1258 (1st Cir. Aug. 29, 2023) (Gelpi, Lynch, Thompson, JJ.) Allstate hired two agents—James Fougere and Sarah Brody-Isbill—to...
Continue Reading
Don’t Stand for It—Collateral Estoppel and Standing
By Sarah J. Fischer on Nov 10, 2022
Posted In Patents
In a series of related cases, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed two decisions from the US District Court for the District of Delaware regarding collateral estoppel on standing issues and reversed a decision from the US District Court for the Northern District of California regarding the effect of license termination...
Continue Reading
Sometimes Inactions Speak Louder Than Words
By Sarah J. Fischer on Sep 22, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision granting summary judgment in favor of the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) regarding the propriety of imposing a restriction requirement on a pre-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) patent. Hyatt v. PTO, Case No. 2021-2324 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 8, 2022) (Moore,...
Continue Reading
Check Your Expert Skills and Standing
By Sarah J. Fischer on Sep 8, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed a portion of an appeal from the Patent Trial & Appeal Board (Board) regarding obviousness because the patentee did not have standing to challenge the decision regarding one of the claims. The Court also affirmed-in-part because the definition of person of ordinary skill in the...
Continue Reading
Veil Piercing Under Lanham Act Requires Specific Showing of Liability
By Sarah J. Fischer on Aug 18, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court decision granting summary judgment of liability under the Langham Act, finding that the plaintiffs failed to apply the correct standards for piercing the corporate veil and individual liability in a false advertising and false endorsement dispute. Edmondson et al. v. Velvet Lifestyles,...
Continue Reading
Expert Testimony Excluded Based on Inadmissible Evidence
By Sarah J. Fischer on Jul 14, 2022
Posted In Patents
Circuit Judge Bryson, sitting by designation in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, excluded a plaintiff’s damages expert opinion because the evidence relied upon by the expert was unreliable and therefore inadmissible, but permitted the plaintiff to serve short addendum opinions. IOENGINE, LLC v. PayPal Holdings, Inc., C.A. No. 18-452-WCB (D. Del....
Continue Reading
Re-Poster Child for § 230: Immunity under the CDA for Reposting Content of Another
By Sarah J. Fischer on Mar 31, 2022
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to dismiss claims for defamation under the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 USC § 230, and for copyright infringement under the fair use doctrine. Monsarrat v. Newman, Case No. 21-1146 (Kayatta, Lipez, Gelpí, JJ.). The parties’ dispute arose from a series...
Continue Reading
Federal Circuit Won’t Rescue Parachute Patent
By Sarah J. Fischer on Mar 24, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial & Appeal Board (Board) decision that claims to a ballistic parachute were obvious over the prior art based on knowledge attributable to artisans and denying the patentee’s motion to substitute proposed amended claims, finding that they lacked written description. Fleming v. Cirrus...
Continue Reading
