#federal-circuit-court-of-appeals

#federal-circuit-court-of-appeals

The technology at issue is a subcutaneous cosmetic penile implant, a silicone sleeve placed between the skin and 'Buck's fascia' to enhance girth and length.

The fellowship, which carries the title of Visiting Associate Professor of Law, is one of the better-known entry points into IP legal academia.

Gramm v. Deere & Company, No. 2024-1598 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 11, 2026), involves neither obviousness nor the Graham factors. Instead, it offers an illustration of means-plus-function claiming under § 112(f) and the doctrinal hazards.

U.S. Patent No. 9,491,542 is titled "Automatic Sound Pass-Through Method and System for Earphones" and was challenged by Samsung via inter partes review (IPR) after ST1 sued Samsung for infringement. Samsung argued that claims 1-10 and 13- 20 of the patent were invalid due to obviousness based on three prior art references: Rosenberg, Ichimura and Visser. The PTAB ultimately found all of the challenged claims obvious over combinations of the prior art, but also found unchallenged claims 11 and 12 unpatentable without explanation.