Blog
These articles are for informational purposes, and are not intended to constitute legal advice. These articles are only the opinion of the authors and are not attributable to Muncy, Geissler, Olds & Lowe, P.C., or the firm’s clients.
Marybeth Peters, a Legacy — a Privilege to Have Known
Marybeth Peters, the former Register of Copyrights, who was associated with our firm from 2016-2017 until she retired, passed away on September 29, 2022. She was the go-to person about copyright law for decades and shared her knowledge and love of the law without...
Claim Construction of APIs
For nearly a decade now, Google and Oracle have been litigating (filed Aug. 13, 2010) over the applicability of copyright to application programming interfaces (API). Over that time period, APIs have only become more widespread and essential to the content delivery...
Branding by the Numbers
Now that the 2020 Olympics are officially rescheduled to 2021, NBC has a lot of content shuffling to do this summer amid cancellations and confusion. But one thing is clear to me, NBC is on top of its branding game. Never mind the media bloggers who can't stop talking...
Strategies for Handling AIA Section 14 Rejections
Even before the Supreme Court case Alice v. CLS Bank limited the areas of economic and financial innovation which could be patented, Congress was looking at ways to restrict patent applications and patent enforcement in these fields. In addition to business method...
Increased Scrutiny for Specimens
The Office has recently implemented a more rigorous examination for specimens when it suspects that the specimen has been digitally created or altered or otherwise a mock-up. Such examination has implications for all filers and practitioners at the Office. It has been...
THE LATEST: Week of 12/4/16 – 12/10/16
IN RE NUVASIVE, INC. (Fed. Cir. 2016) (P) – Merely adopting one party’s position is generally insufficient to support the PTAB’s finding of obviousness
IN RE NUVASIVE, INC. (Fed. Cir. 2016) (P) – Merely adopting one party’s position is generally insufficient to support the PTAB’s finding of obviousness
Merely adopting the position of one of the parties to an appeal or review is generally insufficient to support a finding of obviousness by the PTAB. Here, for example, the PTAB’s reliance on only a conclusory statement by an expert that the modification of the prior...
APPLE, INC. v. AMERANTH (Fed. Cir. 2016) (P) – Automation of a desired result without a method for achieving that result lacks an inventive concept
Computer-based automation of a desired result without reciting a particular method for achieving that result does not rise to the level of an inventive concept under step two of the Mayo/Alice framework for establishing subject matter eligibility. Here, for example,...
ALFRED E. MANN FOUNDATION v. COCHLEAR CORPORATION (Fed. Cir. 2016) (P) – Broad class of algorithms does not provide structure for computer-implemented means-plus-function elements
A broad class of algorithms for performing the function of a computer-implemented means-plus-function element, as opposed to a single or small set of algorithms, is not sufficiently definite to provide the requisite algorithmic structure. Here, for...
UNWIRED PLANET, LLC v. GOOGLE INC. (Fed. Cir. 2016) (P) – A prior art reference need not be directed to the claimed point of novelty in order to be analogous
A prior art reference need not be directed to the claimed point of novelty in order to be analogous. Here, for example, prior art directed to the ordering of menu items was found to be analogous to the claimed prioritization of location-based search results because...