Patent Filings Roundup: Robot Vacuum Wars, PTAB Filings Dip, Pharma Litigation Abounds
The current week’s District Court patent filings were vigorous, with a plunge in Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) filings–a significant piece of which identified with disagreement regarding robot vacuum cleaners. A couple of new (or restored) attestation crusades, a couple of little between organization questions, and various pharmaceutical debates drove the charge.
I state Robot; you state vacuum: Call it the incredible robot vacuum wars of 2020: industry pioneer iRobot sued SharkNinja for the encroachment of three licenses (just as bogus promoting)— looking for a primer order of a contending item directly before the rewarding Christmas season. iRobot fought that SharkNinja had “audaciously ripped off” their Roomba automated vacuum cleaners with their significantly less costly IQ Robot contender item. That offer fizzled, and the case proceeded; presently, SharkNinja has recorded numerous entomb partes audits (IPRs) trying to negate the stated licenses.
SharkNinja (framed in 2003) must be no David itself; claimed by Euro-Pro, a 100-year old organization, it markets blenders (Ninja brands) and vacuum cleaners (Shark brands), in addition to other things. It has replaced Dyson as the pioneer of the U.S. vacuum cleaner showcase – however, it has now focused on contending in the robot vacuum advertise.
The North recollects: Far North Patents, LLC, an NPE with no known connections to funders or aggregators, proceeded with its previous statement crusade of five last Intellectual Ventures-claimed semiconductor/organizing switch directing licenses of December of a year ago against International Business Machines, Broadcom, NXP, Mitel Networks, NEC, Marvell, Sonus, and Texas Instruments, Inc., including ZTE, ADVA Optical Networking SE, Microchip Tech. Inc., and Analog Devices, Inc., this time, was moving from the east toward the Western District of Texas.
Also, Alvogen PB Research And Development, LLC and Norwich Pharmaceuticals, Inc. recorded an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDAs) case on 23 licenses on the prescription Rifaximin, sold under the exchange name Xifaxan® (the later 550 mg definition; the previous medication endorsed in 2004; the plan, 2010), affirmed to treat explorer’s loose bowels and bad-tempered gut disorder, among different signs. Allergan and one other organization have documented ANDAs; Defendants AlfaSigma SpA, maker Salix Pharmaceuticals, and Bausch Health Ireland, Ltd. make and market the primary right now endorsed FDA sedate. Bausch had before settled with Actavis Labs over a potential nonexclusive contender, a settlement that included, in any event, one patent whose term reached out to 2029; they later hit Sandoz with a suit (counting 14 licenses, clearly in regards to the previous 200 mg definition); furthermore obviously settled with Allergan, and prior ANDA filer. There are no endorsed generics, and patent expiry seems far off.
