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District Court's Markman Ruling Has No Preclusive Effect On PTO Reexam

Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.24.07

The Federal Circuit, in In Re Trans Texas Holdings Corp., (No. 2006-1559, -1600, Aug. 22, 2007), affirms a Board's Reexamination decision that found that each of the claims of two related patents were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) as obvious over the prior art. The Court rejects the appellant's argument that the Board should have given preclusive effect to a district court's Markman order, which had construed the claims in their favor in a prior litigation. The Court holds that issue preclusion is not warranted because the PTO was not a party to the earlier litigation, and as a result, did not have a "full and fair opportunity" to litigate the claim construction issues.

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Client Alert | 10 min read | 07.03.25

Focus on Transnational Cartels Continues: FinCEN Targets Three Mexican Financial Institutions with Special Measures, Restricting Their Access to U.S. Financial System

The Orders represent FinCEN’s first actions using new special measures authority under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and FEND Off Fentanyl Act of 2024 (codified at 21 U.S.C. § 2313a) (the “Fentanyl Act”) and continue the Trump Administration’s broader efforts against transnational cartels and narcotics trafficking....