Federal Circuit Narrows USPTO's Definition of "Covered Business Method" -
The America Invents Act (AIA) defines a covered business method (CBM) patent as "a patent that claims a method or corresponding apparatus for...more
On November 2nd, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an update to its guidance regarding the examination of claims with respect to the patent-eligibility requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 101 (see Memorandum entitled...more
Synopsys brought a patent infringement action against Mentor Graphics in the Northern District of California, alleging infringement of various claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,530,841, 5,680,318, 5,748,488, and 6,836,420. Claim...more
Decided September 30th, this Federal Circuit case is already making waves. The majority opinion seems to be at tension with the Court's outcome in BASCOM Glob. Internet Servs., Inc. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, but the real...more
Anecdotally, there seems to be a loosening up regarding the application of § 101 by the District Courts. The 2014 Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l has been referred to as sounding a death knell for...more
10/17/2016
/ Bascom Global v AT&T Mobility ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Enfish v Microsoft ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Software ,
USPTO
Iron Gate, holder of U.S. Patent No. 7,203,693, sued Lowe's in the Southern District of New York, alleging infringement. Lowe's moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), contending that the claims of the patent failed to meet...more
Patentee McRO sued a number of video game developers and publishers in the Central District of California and the District of Delaware for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,307,576 and 6,611,278. Several of the...more
9/14/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Enfish v Microsoft ,
Oral Argument ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Validity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Ultramercial v Hulu ,
Video Games
Core Wireless Licensing brought an action against LG Electronics in the Eastern District of Texas. Core contended that LG infringed claim 21 of its U.S. Patent No. 7,804,850. LG moved for summary judgment on the grounds...more
8/31/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Bascom Global v AT&T Mobility ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Enfish v Microsoft ,
LG Electronics ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Validity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Summary Judgment
It is abundantly clear that the Supreme Court's 2014 Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank decision has significantly changed the patent-eligibility landscape for business methods and some types of software inventions. For instance, in...more
8/22/2016
/ CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Computer-Related Inventions ,
Covered Business Method Proceedings ,
Enfish v Microsoft ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Software ,
Technological Tool Test ,
TLI Communications ,
USPTO
A post grant review (PGR) is an administrative reconsideration of a recent-granted U.S. patent. The proceeding is held in the USPTO, before that body's Patent Trial and Appeal Board. A petition for PGR is timely if it is...more
8/19/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
Claim Construction ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Prior Art ,
Section 101
McClinton Energy Group filed an inter partes review (IPR) petition against all claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,079,413, owned by Magnum Oil Tools International, Ltd. The USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted...more
8/15/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Evidence ,
Fracking ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Intervenors ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Petition for Review ,
USPTO
Patent owner Electric Power Group asserted U.S. Patent Nos. 7,233,843, 8,060,259, and 8,401,710 against Alstom S.A. and various other parties in the Central District of California. The District Court granted Alstom's motion...more
Douglas M. Shortridge, the named inventor of U.S. Patent No. 8,744,933, sued Foundation Construction Payroll Service, LLC ("Foundation") for infringement thereof in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...more
Every day, millions of people are subjected to a frustrating experience -- finding a place to park their automobiles. Whether at the train station, the sports stadium, a festival, or a popular restaurant, circulating through...more
On the heels of the Federal Circuit handing down two subject matter eligibility decisions regarding software, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published a memo to its examining corps regarding these cases. On May 12,...more
This case is notable mainly because it is the first Federal Circuit decision to distinguish itself from Enfish LLC v. Microsoft Corp., and also because it is another reminder that the wall between patentable subject matter,...more
35 U.S.C. § 101 states that "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof" is patent-eligible. However, the Supreme Court has traditionally...more
Some things are rare. A visit from Halley's comet . . . the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series . . . a season of Game of Thrones without a major character's death . . . and a Federal Circuit panel finding claims that pass...more
Plaintiff Peschke Map Technologies ("Peschke") sued Rouse Properties ("Rouse") for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,397,143, directed to a computer-based map navigation and display system. Rouse filed a 12(b)(6) motion to...more
It has been over 20 months since the Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, effectively limiting the scope of patent-eligible subject matter. In particular, software and business...more
3/5/2016
/ Abstract Ideas ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Preemption ,
Rebuttable Presumptions ,
Section 101 ,
Software ,
Young Lawyers
Patentable Subject Matter after Alice: Best Practices for Responding to 35 U.S.C. § 101 Rejections -
It has been over 20 months since the Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l,...more
3/3/2016
/ AFCP ,
America Invents Act ,
Broadest Reasonable Interpretation Standard ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Cuozzo Speed Technologies v Lee ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Patent Prosecution Highway ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Section 101 ,
Trade Secrets ,
USPTO Pilot Program
In February 2015, Advanced Marketing Systems (AMS) sued a number of defendants, alleging infringement of various claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,219,445, 8,370,199, and 8,538,805. The defendants filed a motion for judgment on...more
Voxathon sued Alpine, and a number of defendants that manufacture automobiles, for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,442,261. According to the Court, the patent "relates to computer-implemented systems and methods for...more
Earlier today, we presented a live webinar on the "Top Patent Law Stories of 2015." The webinar covered seven of the twenty stories that made it onto Patent Docs ninth annual list of top patent stories. The seven stories...more
1/22/2016
/ America Invents Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
En Banc Review ,
Limelight v Akamai ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Sandoz v Amgen ,
Section 101 ,
Sequenom ,
USPTO
The fallout from the Supreme Court's Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l case continues to reshape the landscape of patent-eligibility. Despite guidance from the USPTO, patentees still struggle with what exactly is patent-eligible...more