Noting the ambiguity of the Federal Circuit’s recent CLS Bank and Ultramercial decisions, a district court has denied without prejudice a defendant’s motion to dismiss. Zillow, Inc. v. Trulia, Inc., No. C12-1549JLR (W. D. Wash. Sept. 6, 2013). The motion had been brought seeking a ruling that claims that United States Patent No. 7,970,674 did […]
Archive | September, 2013
Court Denies Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings That Patent Claims Relating Musical Notations To Color Are Not Patent-Eligible
By Charles Bieneman on September 22, 2013 in Civil Procedure, Patentable Subject Matter, Software Patents
At least at the pleadings stage, a court has declined to hold patent-ineligible patent claims directed to “relating electromagnetic waves to harmonic sound waves.” Michael Sandborn & Mark Sandborn P’ship v. Avid Tech., Inc., No. 11-11472-FDS (D. Mass Sept. 5, 2013). Accordingly, the plaintiff’s lawsuit alleging infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,930,235 was allowed to […]
First Sale Doctrine Inapplicable to Antitrust Claims Concerning Licensed Software
The first sale doctrine governing transfers of copyrighted works could not be used to allege that statements made to potential customers were “false, predatory or anti-competitive.” Int’l Equip. Trading v. Ab Sciex Llc, No. 13 C 1129 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 29, 2013). The plaintiff in this case had brought a number of unfair competition claims, […]
Insurance Business Method Claims Held Not to Recite Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
Patent claims directed to “a system for generating tasks to be performed in an insurance organization” do not recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, according to a divided Federal Circuit panel. Accenture Global Services GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc., No. 2011-1486 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 5, 2013). Accordingly, in an opinion authored by […]
Joinder Ordered of All Parties with Potential Standing to Assert Patent
Following a patent owner’s appeal of an adverse judgment, and a remand by the Federal Circuit for consideration of a motion to substitute a purported purchaser of rights in the patent-in-suit, a district court has ordered joinder of the purported purchaser. Mformation Techs. v. Research in Motion, No. C-08-4990 EMC (N.D. Cal. Aug. 29, 2013). […]
Conclusory Pleadings Insufficient to Support Indirect Patent Infringement Claims
While the Federal Circuit has held that adherence to Form 18 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is sufficient to support a claim of direct patent infringement, courts have not uniformly addressed the requirements for pleading indirect infringement, i.e., contributory infringement and infringement by inducement. In one recent example, the court held that a […]