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Patent Subject Matter Eligibility

Federal Circuit
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Vanda Pharmaceuticals v. West-Ward Pharmaceuticals — Federal Circuit Upholds Patent Eligibility of Personalized Medicine Claims

The Federal Circuit held that method-of-treatment claims directed to a specific dosing regimen for schizophrenia based on a patient’s genetic profile are patent eligible under §101, distinguishing the Supreme Court’s Mayo decision and reinforcing the eligibility of personalized medicine patents.

Federal Circuit
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Berkheimer v. HP Inc. — Federal Circuit Holds Patent Eligibility Step 2B Contains Factual Questions Not Resolvable on Summary Judgment

The Federal Circuit held that the Alice/Mayo Step 2B inquiry — whether a claim element or combination of elements represents an ‘inventive concept’ that was well-understood, routine, and conventional — contains underlying factual questions that may not always be resolved as a matter of l

Federal Circuit
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Finjan v. Blue Coat Systems — Federal Circuit Requires Further Apportionment of Damages for Multi-Feature Software Products

The Federal Circuit held that identifying the “smallest salable patent-practicing unit” is not sufficient when that unit still contains non-patented features, and further apportionment is required to isolate the value of the patented technology in complex software products.

Federal Circuit
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Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Services — Federal Circuit Affirms CBM Review Cancellation of Auto Finance Patent

The Federal Circuit affirmed PTAB’s cancellation of Credit Acceptance’s patent on financing automobile purchases through a dealer-administered program, holding the claims directed to the abstract idea of processing financing transactions — a business practice not rendered patent-eligible

Federal Circuit
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Smart Systems Innovations v. Chicago Transit Authority — Federal Circuit Holds Open Transit Payment Patents Abstract Under Section 101

The Federal Circuit affirmed invalidity of Smart Systems’ open-loop transit payment patents under Section 101, holding that collecting financial data using generic components to facilitate transit access is an abstract idea — with a notable dissent arguing that the claims addressed a real, Int

Federal Circuit
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Visual Memory v. NVIDIA — Federal Circuit Upholds Programmable Memory System Patent as Directed to Technological Improvement

Reversing a district court’s Section 101 dismissal, the Federal Circuit held that Visual Memory’s patent on a programmable memory system with processor-specific operational characteristics was directed to an improved computer memory technology — not an abstract idea — because it describe

Federal Circuit
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Intellectual Ventures v. Capital One Financial — Federal Circuit Strikes Down XML and Data-Collection Patents as Abstract Ideas

The Federal Circuit affirmed invalidation of Intellectual Ventures’ XML-formatting and financial data-collection patents under Section 101, holding that organizing, collecting, recognizing, and storing data — even when dressed in domain-specific vocabulary — is a patent-ineligible abstract ide

Federal Circuit
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Praxair Distribution v. Mallinckrodt Hospital — Federal Circuit Holds Nitric Oxide Dosing Method Patent Ineligible

The Federal Circuit held Mallinckrodt’s patents on methods of supplying inhaled nitric oxide therapy while monitoring patients for adverse effects were patent-ineligible under § 101 — finding the claims directed to the natural phenomenon that nitric oxide can worsen pulmonary edema in certain

Federal Circuit
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McRO v. Bandai Namco — Federal Circuit Upholds Animation Lip-Sync Patents as Patent-Eligible Improvements to Computer Animation

The Federal Circuit held that McRO’s patents on rule-based automated lip synchronization in 3D character animation were patent-eligible — the claims specified a particular improvement in computer animation technology using specific rules, not merely the abstract idea of using rules to automate

Federal Circuit
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Electric Power Group v. Alstom — Federal Circuit Holds Power Grid Monitoring Patents Invalid as Data-Collection Abstract Ideas

The Federal Circuit held that patents on real-time monitoring and analysis of electric power grid data were patent-ineligible under Section 101, establishing that collecting, analyzing, and displaying information — even in a complex industrial context — is an abstract idea without an inventive conce

Federal Circuit
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Intellectual Ventures I v. Capital One Financial — Federal Circuit Applies Alice to Financial Data Processing Patents

The Federal Circuit affirmed § 101 invalidity of Intellectual Ventures’ patents on interactive customizable web pages and database record indexing — holding that creating customizable web interfaces for financial products and organizing financial data with hierarchical index structures are abs

Federal Circuit
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BASCOM Global Internet Services v. AT&T Mobility — Federal Circuit Finds Inventive Concept in Non-Conventional Arrangement of Known Elements

The Federal Circuit vacated dismissal of BASCOM’s Internet content-filtering patent, holding that an inventive concept can arise from a non-conventional, non-generic arrangement of individually known elements — even if the abstract idea at the core of the claims is itself conventional.

Federal Circuit
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Enfish v. Microsoft — Federal Circuit Holds Self-Referential Database Patent Claims Eligible Under Alice Step 1

The Federal Circuit held that claims directed to a specific improvement in database technology — a self-referential logical table that allows all types of data to be stored in a single table structure — were directed to a concrete software improvement rather than an abstract idea, surviving Alice st

Federal Circuit
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Versata Development Group v. SAP America (2015) — Federal Circuit Affirms First CBM Patent Review, Upholds PTAB Authority to Apply Section 101

The Federal Circuit affirmed the first covered business method patent review final written decision under the AIA, holding that the PTAB correctly invalidated Versata’s pricing patent under Section 101 and that CBM eligibility determinations are reviewable on appeal — establishing the Federal

Federal Circuit
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Ariosa Diagnostics v. Sequenom — Federal Circuit Holds Cell-Free Fetal DNA Detection Patent Ineligible

The Federal Circuit held that Sequenom’s patent on detecting paternally inherited cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal blood for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis was patent-ineligible under § 101 — finding the claims directed to a natural phenomenon (cffDNA’s presence in maternal bloo

Federal Circuit
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Content Extraction & Transmission v. Wells Fargo (2014) — Federal Circuit Affirms Section 101 Dismissal of Document Scanning Patents on Motion to Dismiss

The Federal Circuit affirmed that document-scanning and data-recognition patents are invalid under Section 101 as directed to long-practiced abstract ideas — and notably held that Section 101 invalidity can be decided at the motion to dismiss stage, before claim construction, establishing an early-e

Federal Circuit
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Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics (Post-Remand) — Federal Circuit Addresses BRCA Test Patent Claims After Mayo

The Federal Circuit held that Myriad’s claims to methods of comparing or analyzing BRCA gene sequences were patent-ineligible under § 101 as directed to abstract mental processes — applying the Supreme Court’s Mayo framework to diagnostic comparison claims on remand from AMP v. Myriad, w

Federal Circuit
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Ultramercial v. Hulu (2014) — Federal Circuit Finally Strikes Down Ad-for-Content Patent as Abstract Idea Under Alice

On its third visit to the Federal Circuit, Ultramercial’s patent on ad-supported online media distribution was finally struck down as an abstract idea — completing a legal journey that spanned four years, two Federal Circuit opinions, and two Supreme Court remands, all bookended by the Alice d

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