On Tuesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a District of Delaware decision without a written opinion. The Delaware decision, from late 2018, granted LinkedIn's motion to dismiss the plaintiff's patent suit, finding the asserted...more
Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit ruled on an interesting case that discussed (1) when a case or controversy exists as to unasserted patent claims, and (2) the extent expert declarations affect a patent eligibility...more
11/12/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Case or Controversy ,
Counterclaims ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Jurisdiction ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Summary Judgment
This summer, the District of Utah dismissed Simio’s lawsuit against Flexsim Software, finding that the asserted patent was not patent eligible under Section 101. Simio responded by asking the court to vacate its judgment or,...more
Late last week, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published updated guidance to patent examiners for evaluating subject matter eligibility. This update was in response to comments received in response to...more
As we know, Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) introduced a draft bill months ago that would "reform Section 101 of the Patent Act" and followed that up with a series of congressional hearings. Senator...more
Tenstreet asserted its patent against DriverReach, a recruiting company for hiring CDL drivers, in the Southern District of Indiana. DriverReach moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the asserted patent was directed to...more
10/17/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Data Collection ,
Data-Sharing ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Technology Sector
Western Express Bancshares (WEB) alleged that Green Dot’s sale of debit cards infringed WEB’s patent, which was directed to a method of transferring money through a bank card where (1) the card was linked to a bank account,...more
PTP OneClick asserted its ’915 patent against Avalara in the Western District of Washington; the court quickly dismissed those claims and held that the asserted claims were directed to “the abstract concept of calculating and...more
We wrote about the Federal Circuit’s American Axle decision last week, highlighting Judge Kimberly Moore’s fierce dissent. Judge Moore was not the only person with a strong reaction. A day after the decision, Rep. Doug...more
There is an ongoing struggle over § 101: the Federal Circuit struggles over the appropriate scope; the lower courts struggle to apply the Federal Circuit's decisions; litigants struggle due to the aforementioned.
This has...more
FYF-JB sued Pet Factory for allegedly infringing a patent related to a tug toy that comprises: at least one gripping member; a central portion; and a noise maker designed to emit a sound when one applies force. The patent...more
The Berkheimer effect is real and may be a lifeline for a plaintiff to survive a motion to dismiss or summary judgment. But at some point, those genuine disputes of material fact will be put to a jury....more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rejected all pending claims of Mr. Greenstein’s patent application, which was directed to adjusting the amount a person saves and choosing investments with the goal of saving enough...more
The plaintiff asserted four sports gambling patents against two defendants. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted inter partes review proceedings on three of the asserted patents and defendants moved to dismiss...more
Plaintiff SEMICAPS filed suit in the Northern District of California, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,623,982, which relates to the testing of electronic circuits using a laser. The defendants moved to dismiss the...more
The Federal Circuit – in a split decision – remanded a recent N.D. California decision and held that the district court should have construed a disputed claim term before ruling on patent eligibility.
MyMail asserted...more
Rocksmith sued Yousician Oy, alleging infringement of its patent entitled "interactive guitar game." The patent discloses software for learning to play the guitar and provides an "effective way to provide interactive method...more
8/16/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Software Developers ,
Software Patents
The Federal Circuit provided an undesirable reminder to The University of Bern (and many other patent owners): a positive and valuable contribution does not necessarily equate to patentable subject matter.
Here, the Court...more
Mod Stack accused Aculab of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,460,520, which relates to "a system and method for simultaneously interfacing with different types of call controllers in a voice gateway." The patent specification...more
Last week, the Federal Circuit reversed a District of Minnesota decision and found a patent directed to a system and method for processing paper checks to be abstract and not eligible for patent protection. Judge Chen wrote...more
In a well-publicized litigation, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sued the Russian Federation for "unlawfully hacking into the DNC's computers in connection with the 2016 presidential election and thereafter...more
NetSoc filed suit against several online dating platforms, alleging infringement of its patent entitled "Method and System for Establishing and Using a Social Network to Facilitate People in Life Issues." The defendants moved...more
8/5/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Mobile Apps ,
Online Platforms ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Social Networks
The District of Delaware recently found a patent directed to onsite data backup to be abstract and ineligible for patent protection. The court's discussion went beyond the standard Alice inquiry, and touched on the roles of...more
8/1/2019
/ Abstract Ideas ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Data Processors ,
Dropbox ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inventive Concept Test ,
Lack of Evidence ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Preemption ,
Section 101 ,
USPTO
Pittsburgh Logistics (PL) sued its competitor and former employee, alleging that the employee breached his employment agreement by working for the competitor and that he would inevitably disclose PL's confidential and trade...more
• In a relatively rare opinion regarding design patents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit weighed in recently on the requirements for design patents in its Automotive Body Parts Association v. Ford Global...more
7/31/2019
/ Appeals ,
Auto Parts ,
Automotive Industry ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Design Patent ,
Ford Motor ,
Functionality ,
Ornamental Design ,
Patent Exhaustion ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Summary Judgment