Alexander Piala, PhD
Subscribe to Alexander Piala, PhD's PostsAlexander Piala, PhD, advises on a broad range of intellectual property matters, including patent litigation, patent prosecution and transaction due diligence. He has extensive experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors. His scientific background spans organic chemistry, biochemistry and protein structure/function relationships. Read Alexander Piala's full bio.
Patenting a Nice Cool Glass of Nicotinamide Riboside? Claims Covering Milk Invalid under § 101
By Alexander Piala, PhD on Feb 23, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that claims covering a naturally occurring composition were not patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 merely because one component of the composition had been “isolated.” ChromaDex, Inc. v. Elysium Health, Inc., Case No. 2022-1116 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 13, 2023) (Chen, Prost, Stoll, JJ.) ChromaDex sued...
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2023 IP Outlook: What to Watch in Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law
By Sarah Bro, Douglas Carsten, Syed K. Fareed, Mandy H. Kim, Charles Larsen, Christina (Tina) L. Martini, Jennifer M. Mikulina, Amol Parikh, Eleanor B. Atkins, Cecilia Choy, Ph.D., Anisa Noorassa, Alexander Piala, PhD, Joshua Revilla, Christian Tatum and Diana Pisani on Feb 7, 2023
Posted In Copyrights, EU Update, Life Sciences, Patents, Technology, Trademarks
Coming out of 2022, developments around the globe are shaping the intellectual property (IP) landscape in the new year. We are seeing cases at the intersection of IP law and NFTs, the opening of the Unified Patent Court in Europe, and decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States and the Court of Appeals...
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Cloudy Skies: PTO Director Finds Abuse and Sanctionable Conduct
By Alexander Piala, PhD on Oct 13, 2022
Posted In Patents
The US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) Director issued a precedential opinion finding that filing an inter partes review (IPR) solely to extract payment in a settlement—without the intent to prosecute the IPR to completion—is a sanctionable abuse of process. OpenSky Indus., LLC v. VLSI Tech. LLC, IPR2021-01064 (Oct. 4, 2022) (Vidal, Dir.) In 2019,...
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Bayou Jambalaya: Sanction Motions, Motions to Vacate and Trade Dress Injunctions
By Alexander Piala, PhD on Sep 8, 2022
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a three-part ruling that affirmed the district court’s denial of a motion to vacate as void the judgment based on Rooker-Feldman doctrine because the earlier state and district court decisions were not “inextricably intertwined,” affirmed the district court’s permanent injunction because the district court based...
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