Federal Circuit revisits patentable weight of preamble terms and teaching away in obviousness determinations *

USA - March 5 2013
In Zumbiel, a split panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently held that certain claims in a U.S. patent were not obvious because…

Co-authors: Mark A. Williamson.

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Federal Circuit holds ties to physical world through deeds and contracts insufficient to render abstract idea patentable subject matter *

USA - May 4 2012
Recently, in Fort Properties v. American Master Lease, the Federal Circuit held that a method of creating a real estate investment instrument, designed to avoid tax liabilities which normally arise when real property is bought and sold, had insufficient ties to the physical world to be patentable subject matter.

Co-authors: Mark A. Williamson.

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Federal Circuit looks to “underlying invention” to further limit software patents *

USA - December 21 2011
A panel of the Federal Circuit in Cybersource appears to have curtailed one common technique for obtaining patent protection for software.

Co-authors: Lawrence A. Stahl .

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Federal Circuit addresses use of commercial success to rebut a prima facie case of obviousness *

USA - April 1 2011
The Federal Circuit recently reiterated that a patent applicant does not have to show commercial success of every possible embodiment within the scope of the claimed invention to rely on such evidence to rebut a prima facie case of obviousness.

Co-authors: Mark A. Williamson.

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Prioritized examination *

USA - April 1 2011
Fast Tracking your application for nothing more than an increased fee is close to becoming a reality, as the USPTO recently proposed rules for implementing "Track 1" of the Three Track Examination Program introduced last summer.

Co-authors: Scott D. Malpede .

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