Today, in The Medicines Co. v. Hospira, the Federal Circuit en banc unanimously ruled that “a contract manufacturer’s sale to the inventor of manufacturing services where neither title to the embodiments nor the right to market the same passes to the supplier does not constitute an invalidating sale under § 102(b).”

This case provides a good review of the on-sale bar and circumstances that may or may not constitute a sale that would trigger it.  The decision is based on § 102(b) as it existed before amendment in 2011 under the America Invents Act (AIA); but the decision may guide applying the on-sale bar under AIA § 102(a)(1) to patents that are subject to the amended provision–i.e., patents’ whose claims have an effective filing date on or after March 16, 2013.
Continue Reading En banc Federal Circuit clarifies what constitutes a “sale” triggering the on-sale bar (MedCo v. Hospira)