IP and R&D Spark Newsletter

This month’s Legal Watch highlights key developments shaping patent enforcement, eligibility, and high-value technology disputes. Recent rulings draw a clearer line between patent rights, trade secrets, and the limits of injunctions, while the Federal Circuit’s decision in Constellation Designs v. LG Electronics reinforces the difference between result-oriented claims and claims with specific technical structure. In biotech, CureVac’s lawsuit against Moderna adds momentum to the ongoing mRNA vaccine patent battles, while Monolithic Power Systems’ win against Bel Power demonstrates the strategic value of combining district court defense with USPTO reexamination proceedings.

In Industry News, patent offices continue to refine prosecution pathways and digital workflows. The USPTO introduces the PIER pilot for selected PCT national stage applications, giving applicants options to proceed, defer, or abandon examination. The EPO’s updated fee schedule increases cost pressures for global patent filers, while a new EPO–IEA report highlights a sharp rise in battery recycling patent activity driven by EV growth and critical mineral concerns. The EPO also expands electronic PCT notifications through WIPO ePCT, reinforcing the shift toward fully digital patent prosecution.

This month’s Techno Spotlight captures advances across science, health, digital infrastructure, consumer innovation, regulation, mobility, and SEP licensing:

• Chemicals & Materials: AI-assisted chemistry, PFAS-capturing water filters, oral GLP-1 weight-loss innovation, and plant-based microplastic removal point toward cleaner and smarter material solutions.
• Life Sciences: Breakthroughs include Intellia’s Phase 3 CRISPR therapy for hereditary angioedema, the first FDA-approved gene therapy for OTOF-related hearing loss, AVIM therapy for uncontrolled hypertension, and AI-assisted real-time breast cancer margin imaging.
• Hi-Tech: Intel launches AI-ready Core Series 3 processors, TSMC advances its A13 process roadmap, Google Cloud introduces 8th-generation TPUs, and Qualcomm moves toward custom data-center silicon for hyperscalers.
• Consumer Goods: Suntory expands into self-care through Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare, PepsiCo and partners advance renewable energy sourcing in Europe, while DolCas and TopGum launch new functional nutrition formats.
• Chemical Safety & Regulatory Affairs: Global regulators sharpen medical device oversight, the EU tightens cosmetic safety rules, FDA advances precision safety for genome editing therapies, and AI-enabled clinical trial oversight gains momentum.
• Automobile, e-mobility & Mechanical: Toyota continues investment in combustion engines, Polestar challenges plug-in hybrids, Porsche exits Bugatti Rimac, and Smart returns to the compact EV segment.
• Standard Essential Patents: Tesla challenges Avanci’s SEP pool pricing before the UK Supreme Court, Panasonic secures an AAC SEP injunction in Brazil, Disney faces multi-front HEVC litigation, and InterDigital approaches a $500M smartphone licensing milestone.

Together, these developments show how innovation is moving through a more complex environment—where patent strategy, regulatory readiness, digital transformation, and market adoption must advance together.