Patently-O TidBits

• Please send me your write-ups and client-alerts regarding McKesson. I’m looking for your approach to the issues. dcrouch@gmail.com.
• Over the past 25 years approximately 350 CAFC case decisions include dissenting opinions.  Judge Newman is clearly the most prolific dissenter both in terms of absolute numbers and relative rate. Judge Newman has penned 115 of the dissents — 33% of the total, and her dissent rate per year on the court (4+) is almost double the nearest other judge.  Judge Moore may be the rising alternative voice. In less than a year of service, she has already filed two dissents. (Source – Lexis search).
• Aharonian v. Gutierrez continues rolling along. Patent commentator and activist Greg Aharonian along with David Pressman, David Lentini, and Steve Morsa filed suit against the Government earlier this month. The charge: Margaret Peterlin’s apointment as PTO deputy director was “illegal and an abuse of discretionary power.”  In particular 35 U.S.C. 3(b) requires that the deputy directory have “a professional background and experience in patent or trademark law,” and there has been no showing that Peterlin had any such qualifications prior to taking the job.  Of course, after serving for two months as deputy director, she now does have experience. Like Director Dudas and your Patently-O author, Ms Peterlin graduated from the University of Chicago Law School.
• The anonymous Patent Troll Tracker has an interesting post on the shift in patent filings from the Northern District of California to the Eastern District of Texas. 2006 was the first year that more patent cases were filed in the EDTX than in the NDCA. Projected 2007 numbers have EDTX with more than twice the number of patent cases as NDCA. [LINK].
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