Betting the Bank

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As alert readers are no doubt already aware, the authors of this blog are keenly interested in the outcome of the Federal Circuit’s en banc consideration of the CLS Bank appeal, which squarely considers the patent eligibility of computer–implemented inventions. Just a short note that—as of last Friday—oral arguments have been heard in CLS Bank. Now all that is left is to wait, and to...

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Notes of News

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The weekly news round–up reveals the following of interest to our readers… First, Cisco’s “best–defense–is–a–good–offense” strategy of hitting patent troll Innovatio IP Ventures with federal racketeering charges, based on Innovatio’s campaign of writing letters to approximately 8,000 of Cisco’s wi–fi customers, suffered a setback yesterday. Judge Holderman found that Innovatio’s petitioning activity was constitutionally protected (ed.—however distasteful).  Second, the ill–fated and...

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Silver Linings Transfer Playbook

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The Eastern District of Texas remains the number one patent venue in America. The old normal was that patent–owning plaintiffs would file a single lawsuit against many, many unrelated defendants in that court. Then the America Invents Act—prohibiting joinder of unrelated defendants in a single case based solely on the fact that they are all...

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Shopping Cart Upended

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The shopping cart—a staple of retail stores since at least the 1930s—was patented in 1940, as the “Folding Basket Carriage for Self–Service Stores,” a brainchild of Sylvan N. Goldman (Piggly Wiggly). No doubt, it was an innovative idea, and a welcome relief for weary housewives. Once the wheels of the shopping cart were set in motion,...

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“The Magic of the Internet”

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While we all wait for the Federal Circuit to explain whether, when, and how abstract idea + computer = patent eligibility, courts continue to face motions to dismiss (or motions for summary judgment) on grounds that the computer– or Internet– related patent in question claims ineligible subject matter. In Cardpool, Inc. v. Plastic Jungle, Inc., pending in the Northern...

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Unparalleled Affirmance

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The tale of Parallel Networks, told here before, may have reached its terminus. In 2010, Parallel sued over 100 defendants in a variety of industries—from car–makers to clothing retailers—in several large suits in east Texas asserting the same patent to a “Method and Apparatus for Client–Server Communication Using a Limited Capability Client Over a Low–Speed Communications...

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Texas Two Step

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For anyone with a patent case in Texas, you may have a new dance partner this week. In accordance with General Orders 13–2 and 13–3, Chief Judge Davis modified the docket assignments for the Eastern District judges, which had the effect of transferring a number of patent cases between Judge Davis and Judge Schneider, and...

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Making A Federal Case Of It…

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Pop Quiz: What do the Justice Department, Patent & Trademark Office, and Federal Trade Commission have in common? Answer: An increased concern about problems in the patent system. ****************************************************************************************************************** Yesterday the USPTO and the DOJ (Antitrust Division) issued a joint statement urging the International Trade Commission not to order injunctions in cases involving “standards–essential patents” (patents that cover basic...

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The Wheres and Hows of Source Code Inspection

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If your business is online—and what business isn’t online—then you’re a potential target for a lawsuit charging infringement of one or more patents that a plaintiff wants to read onto your website. Having filed a lawsuit, the plaintiff is entitled to discovery of relevant facts, and that includes your website’s source code, whether you wrote it or bought...

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Google To Change Business Practices in Response to FTC Investigation

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The Federal Trade Commission has been stepping up its activities in the patent arena recently. Today, the agency announced that Google has agreed to change some of its business practices in order to resolve an FTC investigation into potentially anti–competitive practices involving patents on standardized technologies used in smart phones, laptops, tablet computers, and gaming consoles. Under...

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