The Court of International Trade denied Tenacious Holdings’ motion to dismiss a government penalty claim against it related to negligent misclassification of entries. Tenacious said the government should have brought its penalty action as part of the ongoing classification challenge related to the entries. But the court found that, given the idiosyncrasies of case filing procedures at CIT, requiring penalty actions to be filed as counterclaims in classification cases could have the perverse effect of allowing defendants in those penalty actions to run out the statute of limitations.
More resources are needed for federal agencies to fully implement the 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act, though agencies have already focused on educating importers about the new declaration requirements, crafting exclusions, and an creating online database for importers, representatives from Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services and U.S. Fish and Wildlife told a House Subcommittee May 16.
The U.S. patent system is not entirely broken, but reforms beyond the America Invents Act (AIA) are needed to fix issues the system continues to face, a group of current and former federal judges said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Federalist Society and George Mason University School of Law’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property. The judges credited AIA, which Congress passed in 2011, with helping improve conditions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
The U.S. patent system is not entirely broken, but reforms beyond the America Invents Act (AIA) are needed to fix issues the system continues to face, a group of current and former federal judges said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Federalist Society and George Mason University School of Law’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property. The judges credited AIA, which Congress passed in 2011, with helping improve conditions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
The U.S. patent system is not entirely broken, but reforms beyond the America Invents Act (AIA) are needed to fix issues the system continues to face, a group of current and former federal judges said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Federalist Society and George Mason University School of Law’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property. The judges credited AIA, which Congress passed in 2011, with helping improve conditions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Alice Corp. can’t claim four of its patents on a computerized currency trading platform because they're too abstract. Friday’s ruling prevents that trading risk management and investment firm from suing CLS Bank International for patent infringement. Alice had argued that even if the four patents in question were based on abstract ideas, they could still be patentable because of the computer’s role in the invention (http://1.usa.gov/Yz3Yjh). Multiple companies filed amicus briefs in the case. A Google-led group including Dell, Facebook, HomeAway, Intuit, Rackspace, Red Hat and Zynga had said software patent standards were too low. BSA/The Software Alliance said the court shouldn’t limit protections on software patents because software plays a “critical role” in the U.S. economy. The court was divided in the ruling, with five of the nine judges issuing opinions that partially or fully dissented from the majority opinion. Judge Kimberly Moore wrote in a partial dissent that she was concerned the ruling could mean the “death of hundreds of thousands of patents, including all business method, financial system, and software patents as well as many computer implemented and telecommunications patents.” Adam Perlman, a partner with the law firm of Williams & Connolly who represented Alice, said his client had no comment. A CLS Bank spokesman said the company was pleased with the ruling, which “strikes an appropriate balance between innovation and competition, and allows CLS Bank to continue its important operations."
The Court of International Trade vacated its August judgment against Nan Ya Plastics’ claim for funds under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA, also known as the Byrd Amendment) (see 12071601). The court will now allow Nan Ya to file an amended complaint, in light of the Appeals Court’s July 2012 ruling in PS Chez Sidney v. International Trade Commission (see 12071604).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Alice Corp. can’t claim four of its patents on a computerized currency trading platform because they're too abstract. Friday’s ruling prevents that trading risk management and investment firm from suing CLS Bank International for patent infringement. Alice had argued that even if the four patents in question were based on abstract ideas, they could still be patentable because of the computer’s role in the invention (http://1.usa.gov/Yz3Yjh). Multiple companies filed amicus briefs in the case. A Google-led group including Dell, Facebook, HomeAway, Intuit, Rackspace, Red Hat and Zynga had said software patent standards were too low. BSA/The Software Alliance said the court shouldn’t limit protections on software patents because software plays a “critical role” in the U.S. economy. The court was divided in the ruling, with five of the nine judges issuing opinions that partially or fully dissented from the majority opinion. Judge Kimberly Moore wrote in a partial dissent that she was concerned the ruling could mean the “death of hundreds of thousands of patents, including all business method, financial system, and software patents as well as many computer implemented and telecommunications patents.” Adam Perlman, a partner with the law firm of Williams & Connolly who represented Alice, said his client had no comment. A CLS Bank spokesman said the company was pleased with the ruling, which “strikes an appropriate balance between innovation and competition, and allows CLS Bank to continue its important operations."
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for May 6-10 in case they were missed.
CBP is beginning work on implementation of online bulletin notices of liquidation, and the elimination of posting at the customhouse, the agency said. The move is long-overdue and would make keeping up with liquidation easier for importers and service providers, said industry lawyers. The idea, which was suggested by a CBP Branch Chief, was one of four finalists for the government’s Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) award. CBP has formed an implementation team that includes the official that came forward with the idea, said an agency spokeswoman.