Because Fairchild Semiconductor (a counterclaim defendant) had advanced credible non-infringement positions, the court denied a summary judgment motion seeking a finding of willful infringement in Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. v. Power Integrations, Inc., No. 12-540-LPS (D. Del. April 23, 2015). The court here followed the two part test established in In re Seagate Technology, LLC, to […]
Archive | May, 2015
Software Patent Claims Are Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 Without Magic (Statutory) Words
A savvy drafter of software patent claims will, to use one of the worst legal cliches, exalt form over substance. Software in general unquestionably can be patent-eligible even after Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International. Undoubtedly, no magic words can promise that a software patent claim will be found patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. […]
Single Patent Yields Two Results (for now) on the Question of Patent-Eligibility
A court held one independent claim of U.S. Patent No. 8,332,475 patent-eligible, and another not, in Triplay, Inc. v. Whatsapp Inc., No. 13-1703-LPS (D. Del. April 28, 2015). Alleging that claimed subject matter encompassed an abstract idea, and thus that patent claims were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the Defendant had moved for dismissal […]
When Is a (Software) Patent Claim Indefinite?
Patent drafters received a reminder to include terms in the specification as they will appear in the claims, and to make sure claim terms are adequately defined and understood, in Dunnhumby USA, LLC v. Emnos USA Corp., No. 13-CV-0399 (N.D.Ill. Jan. 26 and Feb. 4, 2015). Considering possible indefiniteness of five elements of a disputed […]
Divided Infringement Results in Judgment on Pleadings on Induced Infringement
By Peter Keros on May 17, 2015 in Civil Procedure, Divided and Joint Infringement, Indirect Patent Infringement, Notice Pleading Patent Infringement
Finding that a complaint failed to sufficiently allege that the defendant exercised direction or control over all asserted steps of a method patent claim, a court has dismissed a complaint alleging induced infringement under FRCP 12(c). Robert Mankes v. Vivid Seats, Limited, No. 5:13-CV-717-FL, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24327 (E.D.N.C. Feb 26, 2015). Based on […]
Patent Claims Drawn to Managing Shipping Containers Held Patent-Ineligible
Illustrating that business method patent claims face an uphill battle for patent-eligibility after Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l., a court has invalidated, under 35 U.S.C. § 101, claims directed to a “container monitoring system for accumulating and storing information on shipping containers including container location and container load status.” Wireless Media Innovations […]
Patent Claims in Intellectual Ventures Case Held Patent-Eligible Where No Application Without a Computer; Other Claims Held Patent-Ineligible
Considering claims of various patents-in-suit, a court drew a patent-eligibility line at the point where claims could be practiced without a computer, invalidating claims of two patents, but upholding claims of a third, under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp., no 1:10-cv-01067, Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Trend Micro Inc., […]
Patent-Eligibility Can Be Deferred Until Claim Construction
By Charles Bieneman on May 7, 2015 in Civil Procedure, Litigation, Patentable Subject Matter, Software Patents
Although many courts are often willing to rule on patent-eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 at the pleadings stage, sometimes courts are more comfortable deferring the issue until claim construction. An interesting recent example is Mobile-Plan-It LLC v. Facebook Inc., no. 3:14-cv-01709 (N.D. Cal. April 20, 2015), where patent claims directed to a “method for […]
DDR Holdings Saves Patent-Eligibility of SMS Messaging Claims
Surviving a patent-eligibility challenge under 35 U.S.C. § 101 were patent claims drawn to a “method of using a computer system to facilitate two-way communication between a mobile device and an Internet server.” Messaging Gateway Solutions LLC v. Amdocs Inc., No. 1:14-cv-00732 (D. Del. April 15, 2015). Accordingly, the court denied defendants’ motions for judgment […]
A Reminder That Website Agreements Are Usually Enforceable
Long before the Internet, courts were not reluctant to enforce adhesion contracts. This willingness is one thing the Internet age has not changed. A good reminder – and lessons for parties seeking to enforce, as well as users wary of, website agreements – comes in a recent case in which a U.S. district court enforced […]