Two Years on From Its Launch, How Has the UPC Impacted European Patent Litigation in the Life Sciences Sector?
Two years after its June 2023 launch, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) has handled over 480 life‑science patents, with litigation volume steadily rising. The court has established a holistic approach to claim interpretation, inventive step, added matter and sufficiency, often favoring patentee‑friendly outcomes. It also clarified standards for provisional measures, imminent infringement and medical‑device injunctions, while extending its long‑arm jurisdiction to non‑member states. These developments are reshaping litigation strategy for pharmaceutical and med‑tech companies across Europe.
“Baby Shark” And the Hague Service Convention: The Second Circuit Limits Email Service Abroad
The Second Circuit in Smart Study Co., Ltd. v. Shenzhenshixindajixieyouxiangongsi held that the Hague Service Convention creates a “closed universe” that bars email service on Chinese defendants. The court rejected arguments that the treaty’s silence on email or Rule 4(f)(3) permits...
Latest Federal Court Cases: IronSource Ltd. V. Digital Turbine, Inc. - April 2026
The Federal Circuit dismissed ironSource Ltd.’s appeal of a post‑grant review decision involving Digital Turbine’s U.S. Patent No. 11,157,256. The court ruled ironSource lacked Article III standing because it could not show concrete plans to re‑introduce product features that would infringe the...
In Re Entresto (Sacubitril/Valsartan) Patent Litigation (Novartis Pharms. Corp. V. MSN Labs. Private Ltd.
The Delaware District Court granted Novartis summary judgment in the Entresto patent case, invoking both issue and claim preclusion to bar MSN Labs from relitigating claim construction, validity, and infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,101,659. The court held that the prior...
PTAB Update | March 2026
The PTAB announced a sua sponte rehearing of Ex parte Baurin, revisiting the interplay between obviousness‑type double‑patenting and patent term adjustment in light of the Cellect and Allergan decisions. Simultaneously, the USPTO Director issued a new policy requiring parties in...
AI Legal Watch: April 2026
The White House released a nonbinding National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence, outlining seven priority areas such as child protection, IP rights, and pre‑empting state regulation, while urging Congress to let courts decide whether AI training on copyrighted material is...
Launching the Latest Edition of Our Life Sciences and Healthcare Insights
A&O Shearman released the second edition of its Life Sciences and Healthcare Insights report on April 14, 2026. The edition examines six critical topics—from rising shareholder activism and AI‑driven drug discovery to China’s expanding pharma innovation ecosystem. It also analyzes EU reforms to...
Federal Circuit’s Holding on Patent Eligibility for Engineered Host Cells Dovetails With PERA
The Federal Circuit ruled in REGENXBIO v. Sarepta that a host cell engineered to contain an AAV capsid gene plus a heterologous non‑AAV sequence is patent‑eligible under 35 U.S.C. §101. The opinion leans on the Chakrabarty precedent and distinguishes Myriad by emphasizing the material...
One Battle After Another: Broad Institute Wins at PTAB in CRISPR Dispute
On March 26, 2026 the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruled that the Broad Institute, not the University of California‑Vienna team led by Emmanuelle Charpentier, was the first to invent a CRISPR‑Cas9 system that works in eukaryotic cells. The board found CVC’s lab...
Once More Into the Valley of Death: Navigating SBIR/STTR Funding for Tech Startups After 2025
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were reauthorized through September 2031, adding a new Strategic Breakthrough Awards tier of up to $30 million for transformative technologies. Annual federal non‑dilutive capital now exceeds $4 billion, with cumulative...
![[Podcast] The Great Patent Pivot: How Recent USPTO Policy Shifts Made Challenging Patents Harder – and Enforcing Them Easier](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://jdsupra-static.s3.amazonaws.com/profile-images/og.14750_4752.jpg)
[Podcast] The Great Patent Pivot: How Recent USPTO Policy Shifts Made Challenging Patents Harder – and Enforcing Them Easier
The USPTO rolled out sweeping policy reforms in 2025 that make post‑grant challenges harder while giving patent owners stronger enforcement tools. Higher filing fees, stricter standing requirements, and tighter claim‑construction standards raise the cost and risk of contesting patents. At...
A Small Character Becomes a Big Win for Creative Freedom in California
The California Court of Appeal reversed a lower‑court ruling in Hara v. Netflix, granting Netflix’s anti‑SLAPP motion and dismissing a right‑of‑publicity claim by drag‑queen performer Vicky Vox. The court held that a fleeting character resembling Vox in the series “Q‑Force”...
Patents, Defense, and Startups: What Dual-Use Startups Need to Know About Patents in 2026
The Department of Defense’s two‑year patent holiday lets startups access hundreds of government‑owned patents through no‑fee Commercial Evaluation Licenses, with applications due July 22, 2026. Section 1498 shifts patent enforcement to the federal government, limiting contractors’ liability and offering a narrow defense for...
Astellas Pharma Inc. V. Ascent Pharms., Inc.
In a March 2026 bench trial, the Delaware District Court ruled that Ascent Pharmaceuticals' ANDA for mirabegron infringed all of Astellas Pharma's patents covering the extended‑release Myrbetriq formulation. The court dismissed Ascent's defenses on patent‑eligibility, anticipation, obviousness, and written description,...
Spring Cleaning Your Trademark Portfolio: A Plain-English Guide for In-House Teams
Companies often let trademark portfolios grow haphazardly, resulting in registrations that no longer match current branding or business lines. An annual "spring cleaning" review helps in‑house counsel verify that core marks reflect actual use, retire legacy filings, and spot coverage...
