Esports offer a diverse range of brand marketing touchpoints for connecting with younger generations. Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) – a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise based in the United States – has successfully captured this opportunity across an esports marketing portfolio that includes: Partnership with Riot Games’ League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) esports circuit for the “LCS 10 Wing Bundle” promotion (February 2021). Sponsorship of Team Dignitas, a North American-based competitive gaming organization (2017) Partnership with Turner’s […]
On October 5, 2021, the U.S. Federal Circuit reversed a finding of invalidity by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) for patent claims related to an “artificial valve for repairing a damaged heart valve.” St. Jude Medical LLC (“St. Jude”) filed for an inter partes review (IPR) at the PTAB for U.S. Patent No. 6,821,297, entitled “Artificial Heart Valve, Implantation Instrument and Method Therefor,” owned by Snyders Heart Valve LLC (“Snyders”).
In invalidating the claims, the PTAB interpreted the patent claim limitation of a “frame sized and shaped for insertion between the upstream region and the downstream region.” The PTAB found that the limitation also covers a frame that fits in place after removal of a damaged heart valve. The cited prior art allegedly also disclosed a valve insert sized to fit the valve after the damaged native valve was removed. Therefore, the PTAB found that the prior art anticipated the claims.
The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB erred in determining that the “sized and shaped” limitation “does not require the frame be sized and shaped for insertion into a damaged heart valve,” but “only that the frame is sized and shaped for insertion in a position between the upstream region and the downstream region.” The Federal Circuit reasoned that the PTAB’s construction was incorrect because “it covers frames sized and shaped for installation with the native valve removed, rather than only with the native valve in place.” The Federal Circuit cited language in the patent specification allegedly stressing that the disclosed artificial heart valve can be inserted without removing the native valve, an alleged express improvement on the prior art.
This is the final entry in a three part series. Click here to download the entire guide (PDF). Your brand can achieve icon status in esports and gaming through cultural branding. Where gamers value your product for what it means to their identity first, followed by its functional benefits. Cultural branding differs from the three main models prevalent in conventional marketing today – emotional, mindshare and viral (see […]
Were you looking to introduce yourself to a new fighting game as Brawlhalla in 2021? Maybe you found it accidentally… Someone told you about it… Or you play it already. Whatever the case, we might answer one or many of your game-related questions today. Review: What is Brawlhalla? Is It Worth It In […]
After his free-agency announcement, Xu was handpicked to jungle for C9 Amateur. It’s an opportunity to prove that he deserves not just this chance but more. Read More…
BLAST has announced a new partnership with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to broadcast its final three events of the season. The events will stream live on BBC’s digital platform, BBC iPlayer.
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One of the difficult things about esports in Las Vegas is the issue with local competitiveness or more importantly, “How can locals get involved in the esports scene?”.... Continue reading
