The Federal Circuit held that obviousness-type double patenting is measured against a patent's post-PTA expiration date, reshaping prosecution strategy for patent families.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that decades of unreasonable, unexplained delay in prosecuting continuation applications can render the resulting patents unenforceable.
The Federal Circuit held that a later-issued, earlier-expiring patent can serve as a double-patenting reference, anchoring the doctrine to expiration dates in the post-URAA world.
The en banc Federal Circuit rebuilt the inequitable-conduct doctrine around but-for materiality and specific intent to deceive, narrowing the 'plague' of unenforceability defenses.
