Mark Cuban: “Get rid of all software patents”
A dim view of software patents does not make Mark Cuban unique, but his latest foray into the patent debate does provide interesting insights into his arbitrary views on innovation. Like your...
View ArticleSoftware Patent Eligibility: Where is the Industry Heading?
''There should be no serious question that computer-implemented inventions such as software constitute patent-eligible subject matter under § 101,'' Paul Clement wrote in a brief filed on behalf of IBM...
View ArticleCAFC denies Sequenom en banc petition, Next stop SCOTUS
The law of patent eligibility is created by the nine least qualified people to make such a determination; the Justices of Supreme Court of the United States. The Supreme Court arbitrarily chooses which...
View ArticleThe Most Likely Art Units for Alice Rejections
While Alice rejections can be found all over the USPTO, roughly two-thirds of them are found in TC 3600. Only TC 2900 has not had any Alice rejections. Looking deeper into the 3620s, 3680s, and 3690s,...
View ArticleAustralia Releases Guidelines on Patentability of Genetic Material – Now...
The Australian Patent Office yesterday released its new guidelines in response to Australia’s High Court decision on the patentability of genetic material. The good news for Australia, though cold...
View ArticleProgrammed computers are switching machines, and not directed to an abstract...
A computer is a machine, yet there is an ongoing trend to “anthropomorphize” computers. That is: functions that are performed by humans are said to be able to be performed by computers. Anyone who has...
View ArticleAmici Ask Federal Circuit to Curb Misapplication of Alice to Specific, Novel,...
On December 18, 2015, several amici filed a brief in support of appellants in Netflix, Inc. v. Rovi Corp. et al., No. 15-1917 at the Federal Circuit. The amici Broadband iTV, Inc., Double Rock...
View ArticleThe Year in Patents: The Top 10 Patent Stories from 2015
It is that time once again when we look back on the previous year in preparation to close the final chapter in order move fresh into the year ahead. 2015 was a busy year in the patent world, although...
View ArticlePatent and IP Wishes from K Street for the New Year
If Gene (the “genie”) were to grant me patent and IP wishes for 2016, I would ask for (in no particular order) the passage of trade secrets legislation, resolution of the current patent reform...
View ArticleMcRo decision expected to clarify abstract idea doctrine under Alice
A case currently pending before the Federal Circuit is anticipated to provide greater guidance into the answer to this question, namely, how district courts should determine whether a claim is directed...
View ArticleThe Patent Office should establish a more systematic approach to Alice-based...
Addressing the problem would be responsive to the overwhelming bulk of commenters who expressed opinions on the PTO’s most recent July 2015 Update on Subject Matter Eligibility (Section 101), who have...
View ArticleUsing contrasting examples to rein in capricious application of Alice by the...
Although categorizing abstract ideas could be helpful, the use of categories expands the risk of overbreadth, especially when the categories have little definition, include sub-categories, and lack...
View ArticleWhat is a patent and where do patent rights come from?
A patent is a proprietary right granted by the Federal government pursuant to laws passed by Congress. The Congressional power to authorize patents is found in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the...
View ArticleAlice’s Tourniquet: A Solution to the Crisis in Patentable Subject Matter Law
The Supreme Court’s own precedents provide overwhelming authority for interpreting § 101 broadly and, conversely, interpreting its judicial exceptions to § 101 narrowly. These precedents provide ample...
View ArticleReducing amorphous Alice-based abstract idea rejections with a better...
As we await the next Update from the Patent Office on subject matter eligibility, it may be worthwhile to consider further the role of examples given in the past by the PTO. The Patent Office’s July...
View ArticleSCOTUS Blog founder asks Supreme Court to reconsider Mayo ruling in Sequenom...
This is as straightforward a certiorari candidate as any patent case can be. It is manifestly important: A host of judges and amici have stressed that the result below is untenable— invalidating...
View ArticleAppending Conventional Steps to Abstract Idea an Insufficient Inventive Concept
The Court held that dealing “physical playing cards” did not constitute patent eligible territory. This constituted a “purely conventional” activity, like the conventional computer implementation that...
View ArticleAmici led by Eli Lilly file brief in Supreme Court in support of Sequenom...
Rather than use the word 'conflate' to describe the mongrel mixture of patentability requirements the Supreme Court undertook in Mayo, the Eli Lilly brief characterizes the analysis employed by the...
View ArticleFederal Circuit guidance is needed because district courts are misapplying Alice
The District Court’s errors in the Broadband iTV decision are a paradigmatic and telling manifestation of certain of the manners in which district courts are misapplying the two-step Alice test in...
View ArticleBroadband iTV files amicus brief supporting Versata petition for certiorari
Versata presented four questions to the Supreme Court, some very specific to CBM proceedings. In its amicus brief, Broadband iTV more generally asks the Supreme Court to revisit its patent-eligibility...
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