- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that in the wake of a couple of large damages
awards in patent infringement cases brought by universities, more higher education institutions are beginning to think about flexing their IP muscles. (via The Blog of Legal Times) - On February 19, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Bowman v. Monsanto, a case that involves the applicability of the patent exhaustion doctrine to patented, self-replicating plant seeds (Bowman had purchased these seeds but replanted them without a license from Monsanto, creating later generations of the patented seeds). The U.S. Government recently filed an amicus brief supporting Monsanto, taking the position that exhaustion only applies to the seeds purchased by Bowman, and not to subsequent generations, which represent infringing “makings” under the patent laws. More from Dennis Crouch at Patently-O.
- Some provisions in the America Invents Act were thought to to limit infringement suits brought by non-practicing entities. But did the AIA just turn NPEs’ litigation focus to startups? (via Forbes)
