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Author Archives: Kinney & Lange, P.A.

Beyond the Looking Glass: Patent-Eligible Subject Matter After Alice and Mayo

November 1, 2014 5:21 pm Published by Comments Off on Beyond the Looking Glass: Patent-Eligible Subject Matter After Alice and Mayo

By Erik Wright and Austen Zuege From Intellectual Property Today, Vol. 21, No. 11 (November 2014) In recent cases such as Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S.Ct. 2347 (2014), the Supreme Court has reiterated that abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomena cannot be patented. Inventions directed to any of these three categories must include sufficient extra material to form the basis of a patent. The Court has provided some guidance as to what kinds of claim language can satisfy this requirement, but has thus far declined to define the principal categories of patent-ineligible subject matter in...


Patented Meat Cutting Process Garners Investment from Shark Tank

October 30, 2014 9:17 pm Published by Comments Off on Patented Meat Cutting Process Garners Investment from Shark Tank

Former professional football player Al ‘Bubba’ Baker brought his patented method for making deboned baby back ribs to ABC’s Shark Tank television show, where he caught the interest of investors who had never before seen a method patent for preparing meat. The patent for cutting and forming boneless pork loin to mimic a slab of pork rib meat was prosecuted by Kinney & Lange and issued in 2006 (U.S. Patent 7,022,007). Since the episode aired in December 2013, Baker has entered into a partnership with a major meat processor in Missouri. In April 2014, Baker returned to the show to...


Pro Bono Projects

October 15, 2014 9:13 pm Published by Comments Off on Pro Bono Projects

Kinney & Lange is committed to addressing the growing needs of our community by encouraging pro bono projects that serve the general public interest or redress an acute deprivation of individual rights of persons unable to secure private counsel. Kinney & Lange encourages its attorneys to participate in pro bono activities and is dedicated to fostering an environment that is conducive to such activities and providing the resources and support necessary for attorneys to serve their clients to the best of their ability. While most pro bono projects fall outside the scope of intellectual property law, on occasion, attorneys may...


Kinney & Lange Recognized as a “Go-To IP Provider”

September 4, 2014 9:14 pm Published by Comments Off on Kinney & Lange Recognized as a “Go-To IP Provider”

BTI recognized Kinney & Lange in the categories of “Go-To IP Provider,” “Best at Routine Patent Work,” and “Most-Favored IP Boutiques” in its annual study of the IP and IP litigation market. BTI’s analysis focused on client spending, goals, priorities, and needs, and interviews of over 175 General Counsel and IP decision makers at top-spending organizations to collect direct feedback on over 200 law firms.


Kinney & Lange Named as a “Go-To Law Firm”

December 31, 2013 9:16 pm Published by Comments Off on Kinney & Lange Named as a “Go-To Law Firm”

Kinney & Lange was named as a “Go-To Law Firm” for in-house law departments. In a 2013 edition published by Corporate Counsel magazine, Kinney & Lange was featured as outside counsel for several top 500 companies.


Strategic Third-Party Submissions Against Patent Applications

November 1, 2012 5:26 pm Published by Comments Off on Strategic Third-Party Submissions Against Patent Applications

By Austen Zuege From Intellectual Property Today Vol. 19, No. 12 (December 2012) The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) expanded opportunities for third parties to submit publications and comments against patent applications pending before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). New procedures under 35 U.S.C. § 122(e) and 37 C.F.R. § 1.290 went into effect September 16, 2012 that provide a window for third-party pre-issuance submissions with explanations of relevance. Used strategically, these procedures can provide a powerful and cost-effective tool for reducing infringement risks from overly broad patent claims. Legislative history claims these submissions “will allow the public...


A New Era for Patent-Eligible Subject Matter

May 1, 2012 5:24 pm Published by Comments Off on A New Era for Patent-Eligible Subject Matter

By Austen Zuege From Intellectual Property Today, Vol. 19, No. 5 (May 2012) The Supreme Court has announced a new approach to assessing patent subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Bilski v. Kappos “punted” and did little more than reiterate that laws of nature, physical phenomena, and abstract ideas are ineligible for patent protection, stating that the machine-or-transformation (“MoT”) test may be a useful and important clue or investigative tool but is not the sole test for deciding whether an invention is a patent-eligible “process”. [1] But in Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., a unanimous Court...


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