Tag Archives: eligibility

Drafting for Eligibility: Insights from the Federal Circuit’s Contour IP v. GoPro

September 9, 2024PatentAbstract Idea, eligibility, Federal Circuit, paidDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

In Contour IP v. GoPro, the Federal Circuit has reversed a Judge Orrick (N.D.Cal.) summary judgment of ineligibility. The case here should be one for patent drafters to consider -- particularly thinking about how to incorporate specific technological improvements into their patent claims and specification (while still maintaining broad claim coverage). Of course, the patentee here has the benefit of actual hardware beyond mere processing.

Contour owns two patents related to POV video cameras. These patents claim a camera system having lenses, sensors, etc., that generates two video streams of different quality in parallel, wirelessly transmitting the lower-quality stream to a remote device for real-time viewing and control on your phone. The higher-quality stream is stored on the camera for later use.

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From Knobs to Pixels: UI Patent Eligibility on Trial

September 3, 2024PatentAbstract Idea, eligibility, GUI, paid, Section 101, Subject Matter EligibilityDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

For over 150 years, "user interfaces" have been a staple of patent protection, evolving from the physical realm of tool handles and knobs to today's digital screens. Although tangible interface elements continue be patented as components of larger systems, the market shift towards on-screen interfaces has been paralleled with the anti-eligibility shift in Mayo and Alice. The Federal Circuit recently waded into these murky waters in Broadband iTV, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., No. 23-1107 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 3, 2024), examining the patent eligibility of electronic programming guides and content recommendation systems. Affirming a decision by Judge Albright, the appellate panel held that the claimed inventions lacked eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101, distinguishing some prior GUI cases that sided with the patentee.

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Alice Backs Anna: Federal Circuit Finds Miller Mendel’s Background Check Patent Abstract

July 18, 2024PatentAlice/Mayo, eligibility, paidDennis Crouch

By Dennis Crouch

In Miller Mendel, Inc. v. City of Anna, Texas, No. 2022-1753 (Fed. Cir. July 18, 2024), the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's judgment on the pleadings that the asserted claims of Miller Mendel's U.S. Patent No. 10,043,188 ('188 patent) are ineligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The court also affirmed the denial of the defendant's motion for attorneys' fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285.