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IN RE: MAATITA, decided August 20, 2018, Enablement and Definiteness

Design Application 29/404,677 is directed to a tread for a shoe bottom.  The application has two figures showing a plan view of the shoe bottom (page 2).   The Examiner and board alleged that the design claims were not enabled and indefinite due to lack of other views to determine depth and contour (pages 3-6).  A […]

BSG TECH LLC v BUYSEASONS, INC., decided August 15, 2018

U.S. Patent Nos. 6,035,294; 6,243,699; and 6,195,652 are directed to a self-evolving generic index for organizing information in a database.  Class (e.g., used), parameter (e.g., color), and value (e.g., red) are used to organize (page 2).  To overcome specificity in prior art approaches, users may add new parameters – self-evolving – based on usage notation […]

DIEBOLD NIXDORF, INC. v. ITC, decided August 15, 2018

U.S. Patent No. 8,523,235, directed to an ATM.  The claim term “cheque standby unit” is disclosed as holding a cheque for possible return to the user (page 3).  The specification discloses a “cheque temporary standby unit,” discloses the location, and discloses the function (pages 3-5).  The unit is noted as being formed by a path […]

ADVANTEK MFG., INC. v. SHANGHAI WALK-LONG TOOLS CO., decided Aug. 1, 2018 – Estoppel

U.S. Design Patent No. D715,006 is directed to a portable animal kennel without a roof.  The original application was restricted between drawings showing the kennel with a roof and drawings showing the kennel without the roof (pages 3-6).  The roofless drawings were elected (page 6).  The accused product is the kennel of the design with […]

GOPRO, INC. v. CONTOUR IP HOLDING LLC, decided July 27, 2018, Prior Art Holding

U.S. Patent Nos. 8,890,954 and 8,896,694 are directed to action sport video cameras for remote control and viewing.   The patents share a same specification and claim priority to a provisional application filed September 13, 2010, making the one year critical date September 13, 2009 (page 3).   The GoPro 2009 catalog was displayed and distributed at […]

TRS. OF BOSTON UNIV. v. EVERLIGHT ELECS. CO., decided July 25, 2018

U.S. Patent No. 5,686,738, directed to LED creation with monocrystalline GaN films.  Claim interpretation of “non-single crystalline buffer layer” is poly, amorphous, or both layer, not a monocrystalline layer (pages 5-6).  A growth layer is “grown on” the buffer layer directly or indirectly, allowing for various combinations including growing a monocrystalline layer directly on an […]

BLACKBIRD TECH LLC v. ELB ELECTRONICS, INC., decided July 16, 2018

U.S. Patent No. 7,086,747, directed to energy efficient lighting retrofit.  In one embodiment, a housing with an attachment surface and opposite illumination surface is sized to be installed to an existing ballast cover (page 3). The claim recites “a fastening mechanism for securing the attachment surface of the lighting apparatus to the illumination surface” (pages […]

INTERVAL LICENSING LLC v. AOL, INC., decided July 20, 2018

U.S. Patent No. 6,788,314, directed to presentation of extra information in an unused portion of a display screen.  The claim recited accessing, scheduling, and displaying information are conventional and do not define how the display is segregated (page 3).  The claim limitations are directed to enabling acquisition of content and control over when to display […]

ERICSSON INC. v. INTELLECTUAL VENTURES LLC, 16-1671, decided May 29, 2018

U.S. Patent No. 6,952,408, directed to frequency hopping with time division multiplexing. The claim recites “changing” between RF channels, but the prior art indicated frequency hopping as optional through a reference to the GSM standard (page 15).  Any differences are in unclaimed implementation (pages 15-17). Hindsight: a creative argument based on claiming an event where […]