MoFo partner James Bennett gave opening statements for Nuance Communications on the first day of a jury trial involving competing products in the field of optical character recognition.

One of the most common complaints about the U.S. patent system is that inventors are claiming ownership of basic, widely understood ideas. In a case set for oral arguments this Friday, the Federal Circuit has a chance to mollify those critics--or to create new ones.

An en banc ruling from 12 judges on the Federal Circuit gives Tivo more ammunition in its seven-year patent battle with EchoStar. But EchoStar probably isn't done fighting. "I think a cert petition is highly likely," said Edward Reines of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, who filed an amicus brief for the American Intellectual Property Law Association. "You can bet on it."

Patent reform is coming to Europe. The E.U. is establishing a new patent regime that will allow inventors to file for a single patent valid in almost all of its member states, and that will set up a new patent court with venues in London, Munich, and Paris.

A looming trial in the case will showcase two of the country's most fearsome patent litigators — Douglas Lumish of Latham & Watkins for TransPerfect and Charles Verhoeven of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan for MotionPoint.

Two tech-savvy federal judges are sending different messages on the standard for permanent injunctions in patent cases. While Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's request for a ban on Samsung sales in Decemer, on Thursday Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal entered a permanent injunction sought by Brocade against rival A10 Networks.