News / Insights

My next webinar on patentable subject matter will be devoted to business methods. It takes place on December 9. Details follow: Subject Matter Eligibility of Business Methods: Surviving 35 U.S.C. § 101 – Product Info – Barbri – Barbri Portal

Not a surprise! In today’s Rideshare Displays v. Lyft case (nonprecedential), the Federal Circuit found ineligible under section 101 claims directed to a system for verifying that a ridesharing-app user is getting into the correct car. Below, the PTAB had granted a motion to amend in an IPR. The substitute claims were challenged on appeal…

In today’s Cascades Branding v. Aldi case (nonprecedential), the Federal Circuit once again used EPG to strike down a patent for reciting ineligible subject matter. I think this makes the 6th time since April that the Fed Cir has relied on EPG to kill patents under section 101. The technology at issue involves displaying images…

My next webinar on patentable subject matter will take place on 10/1 and will focus on Alice’s step one, the abstract-idea analysis. Details follow: Abstract Ideas and Patent Eligibility: Navigating Alice Step One and Surviving Section 101 Challenges – Product Info – Barbri – Barbri Portal

Today’s In re Healy decision (nonprecedential) is yet another example of business method patents failing at the Federal Circuit. The application at issue is directed to “systems and methods ‘for discovering and publishing clearing prices of commodities within exchange markets.’” This sounds like a fundamental economic process to me! Although the claim was lengthy, covering…

In today’s DirectPacket Research v. Polycom case (non-precedential), the Federal Circuit struck down a patent under section 101. The technology involves using an intermediate protocol to translate one incompatible communication protocol to another (i.e., rather than translating directly between the two endpoint protocols, translate the first communication protocol to the intermediate protocol and then translate…

In yesterday’s post, I discussed how in the Federal Circuit’s two USAA companion cases from June 12, the district court had found that the claims were not directed to an abstract idea, but the Federal Circuit disagreed, striking down the patents. On June 16, the Federal Circuit issued another opinion (Optis Cellular Tech.) again reversing…