Awards of attorneys fees under 35 U.S.C § 285 may seem difficult to obtain, given the dual requirement of proving a party’s subjective bad faith, as well as the objective baselessness of its position. However, as demonstrated in Gabriel Technologies Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., No. 2013-1205 (Mar. 18, 2014), some conduct is so egregious that […]
Archive | March, 2014
FRCP 12 and 35 U.S.C. § 101
Three recent district court cases illustrate the viability, and the limitations, of bringing a motion to dismiss and/or for judgment on the pleadings, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12, based on a failure of patent claims to define eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C § 101. In each of these cases, courts considered the […]
Federal Circuit Reverses Software System Patent Claim Construction
In an opinion authored by Chief Judge Rader, and joined by Judges Dyk and Taranto, the Federal Circuit has reversed and vacated a summary judgment of non-infringement in favor of Google, finding that the district court based its finding of non-infringement on an erroneous claim construction. Vederi, LLC v. Google, Inc., No. 13-1057 (Fed. Cir. […]
Knowledge Not Enough for Induced Patent Infringement
A retailer’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss a claim of induced patent infringement has been granted where the only allegation of intent to induce infringement rested on the retailer’s alleged knowledge that the product’s user manual instructed customers to perform infringing acts. Tierra Intelectual Borinquen, Inc. v. ASUS Computer Int’l, Inc., No. 2:13-CV-38-JRG (E.D. Texas […]
Is Section 101 Patent Eligibility Determined By Claim Breadth?
A Federal Circuit panel has held invalid, for not reciting patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, patent claims directed to separating telephone transaction data into component parts, and storing it at different destinations. CyberFone Sys., LLC v. CNN Interactive Group, Inc., Nos. 2012-1673, 2012-1674 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 26, 2014). An opinion authored by […]