The Federal Circuit upheld the invalidity of claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,003,500 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, 1st paragraph (pre-America Invents Act) for failure to provide an adequate written description of patent claim terms added by amendment well after the original patent application was filed. Driessen v. Sony Music Entertainment, No. 2015-2050 (Fed. Cir. […]
Virtual Classroom Claims Not Indefinite Under 35 U.S.C. § 112 Are Patent-Ineligible Under Alice
After a remand from the Federal Circuit decision nixing one independent claim of US patent no. 6,155,840 under 35 U.S.C. § 112, the district court has now held remaining independent claims patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, No. CV 11-02409 SJO (JEMx) (C.D. Cal. Feb 17, 2016). All of the […]
Patent Claims Directed to Cloud Computing Held to Encompass Patent-Ineligible Abstract Idea
Patent claims directed to managing a cloud computing environment were held invalid on a motion under FRCP 12, as reciting patent-ineligible abstract subject matter in Kaavo v. Cognizant Tech. Solutions Corp., No. 14-1192-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Feb. 5, 2016). U.S. Patent No. 8,271,974 (“the ‘974 patent”), discloses an N-tier cloud computing environment. Each tier has a […]
Claims to Computer Readable Discount Coupons Held Patent-Ineligible
Patent claims for applying discounts to purchases to track customer purchasing habits based on computer readable discount coupons were held to recite patent-ineligible subject matter in Motivation Innovations, LLC v. Petsmart, Inc., No. 13-957-SLR, (D. Del., January 12, 2016). The court granted defendants motion under FRCP 12(c) for judgment on the pleadings of invalidity under […]
Federal Circuit Easily Affirms Patent-Ineligibility of Claims Drawn to Managing Shipping Containers
Like drilling a small hole in the hull of the Titanic (post-iceberg), the Federal Circuit has affirmed a district court’s judgment on the pleadings of patent-ineligibility of 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 LLC v. Maher […]
Claims Directed to Conducting Transactions Via Interactive TV Held Patent-Ineligible
Patent claims directed to securing various aspects of digital content on a user’s television were held patent-ineligible in OpenTV, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., No. 5:15-cv-02008-EJD (N.D. Cal., Jan. 28, 2016). Ruling on Apple’s motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the court used the familiar Alice / Mayo two-step framework to invalidate claims […]
PTAB Denies Petition for CBM Review of Patent Directed to ATM Banking Transactions: a Portent for Patent-Eligibility of Business Methods? (Maybe Not)
By Charles Bieneman on January 31, 2016 in America Invents Act, Covered Business Method Patent Review, Patentable Subject Matter
The USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has denied a petition for Covered Business Method (CBM) Review of U.S. Patent No. 6,081,792, whose claims recite methods of “providing money or an item of value to an account-holder” and “paying on behalf of a person for money or an item of value, from an account […]
Exciting Technology (and new Intellectual Property?) at the 2016 North American International Auto Show
We saw a lot of interesting technology – and, who knows, maybe some new intellectual property – at this year’s North American International Auto Show, the annual gathering of the automotive industry at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, a short distance from our office. As intellectual property attorneys we are always interested in new technology, so […]
Federal Circuit Vacates PTAB Written Decision in IPR For Inadequate Explanation of Invalidity Holding
In a non-precedential opinion, Cutsforth, Inc. v. MotivePower, Inc., No. 15-1316 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 22, 2015), the Federal Circuit criticized the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) for failing to explain its obviousness rejection of U.S. Patent No. 7,990,018, which is directed to a removable brush holder. The Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the decision back […]
Alice Was a Game-Changer, Federal Circuit Affirms
The Supreme Court’s decision in Alice Corp. Pty., Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l. did indeed change the scope of patent-eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the Federal Circuit explained – just in case anyone in the patent community had any doubts – in Mortgage Grader, Inc. v. First Choice Loan Services Inc., No. 2015-1415 (Fed. […]