IP Blog
Alice/Mayo test
Are the Fed. Circuit’s Rule 36 Judgments Always a Bad Thing?
The Federal Circuit has been widely criticized for the practice, under its Rule 36, of affirming lower court and USPTO PTAB decisions without any opinion. This post highlights two recent Rule 36 affirmances of holdings of patent-ineligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101. I should stress that I don’t disagree that the court generally owes its litigants an explanation of its...
Creating “Member” Webpages Held Not Patent-Eligible
Patent claims directed to allowing “Internet users to communicate with members of a group” via “designated webpages” are not patent-eligible under 35 USC § 101, said the court in EveryMD.com LLC v. Facebook Inc., No. CV 16-06473-AB (JEMx) (N.D. Cal. May 10, 2017). Thus, the court granted the defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings under FRCP 12(c), dismissing a...