Christopher M. Bruno
Subscribe to Christopher M. Bruno's PostsChristopher M. Bruno focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation matters (i.e., patent, trade secrets, and related contract disputes) in the US Supreme Court, the US International Trade Commission, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, as well as various district courts around the country. Read Christopher M. Bruno's full bio.
Is Pleading “Generic” Enough to Plead Inducement?
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jul 11, 2024
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that a branded pharmaceutical manufacturer properly pled a theory of inducement by alleging that the generic competitor promoted its product as “generic” to the branded product and referred to the branded product’s sales for patented uses. Amarin Pharma Inc. v. Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., Case...
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SHOP SAFE Act: E-Commerce Trademark Enforcement Legislation Reintroduced in the House
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jun 27, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
On June 11, 2024, Representatives Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Darrell Issa (R-CA) of the US House of Representatives Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet reintroduced the Stopping Harmful Offers on Platforms by Screening Against Fakes in E-Commerce (SHOP SAFE) Act of 2024. The proposed legislation seeks to protect US consumers from unknowingly...
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Senate Policy Roadmap Steers Generative AI Toward Transparency
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jun 6, 2024
Posted In Technology
In May 2024, the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group released a roadmap to guide artificial intelligence (AI) policy in several sectors of the US economy, including intellectual property (IP). The group, which includes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Todd Young (R-IN), acknowledged the competing interests of positioning...
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Patent Venue: VENUE Act Would Expand Scope of Venue
By Christopher M. Bruno on May 2, 2024
Posted In Patents
As part of proposed legislation intended to address several procedural issues related to judicial proceedings, a recent section titled the Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act of 2024 (VENUE Act) seeks to expand the number of jurisdictions in which a patent infringement suit can be brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(b). The bill, S 4095,...
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What Use Does § 271(e)(1) Safe Harbor “Solely” Protect?
By Christopher M. Bruno on Apr 4, 2024
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed that the 35 U.S.C. § 271(e)(1) safe harbor protecting certain infringing acts undertaken for regulatory approval applied to an alleged infringer’s importation of transcatheter heart systems while attending a trade conference, finding the importation reasonably related to submitting information to the US Food & Drug Administration...
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Senate Holds Hearing on Legislative Initiative to Address Patent Eligibility
By Christopher M. Bruno and Kavya Rallabhandi on Feb 1, 2024
Posted In Patents
Seeking to undo the current jurisprudence “mess” on the issue of patent eligibility, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property heard testimony on January 23, 2024, on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) (text here). PERA seeks to address the uncertainty and unpredictable outcomes created by the 2014 Supreme Court of the United States...
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PTO Continues to Wave Wands in Assessing Enablement
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jan 18, 2024
Posted In Patents
In light of the 2023 Supreme Court of the United States decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) published guidelines for PTO employees to use, regardless of technology, to ascertain compliance with the enablement requirement under 35 U.S.C. § 112. (89 Fed. Reg. 1563 (Jan. 10, 2024).) Unsurprising to...
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Status Quo Has Few Defenders at PREVAIL Act Senate Subcommittee Hearing
By Christopher M. Bruno and Ian J. Howard on Nov 16, 2023
Posted In America Invents Act, Patents
On November 8, 2023, the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property heard testimony from four witnesses on the proposed Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act. Although the PREVAIL Act includes several provisions regarding transparency and independence, its thrust is its dramatic alteration of Patent Trial & Appeal Board post-grant review...
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Coons and Tillis Introduce Two Bills Intended to Change Patent Landscape
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jul 13, 2023
Posted In Patents
In late June 2023, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced two bills in Congress that, if enacted, would change the patent adjudication landscape: The Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act is the latest iteration of a multiyear effort to reform patent law to address perceived problems with the...
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It’s a Hard Rock Life: Guitar-Shaped Hotel Warrants Trademark, but Hilton Doesn’t
By Christopher M. Bruno on Jun 22, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
In a twin set of precedential opinions, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board laid the foundation for determining whether building designs can be trademark protected as service marks. In re Palacio Del Rio, Inc., Ser. Nos. 88412764; 88437801 (TTAB May 25, 2023) (Shaw, Goodman, Hudis, ATJs); In re Seminole Tribe of Florida, Ser. No. 87890892...
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