There is the distinct possibility that Section 101 is finally returning to the Supreme Court. In American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, No. 20-891, the Supreme Court invited the Solicitor General for the views of the United States on the pending petition for certiorari. In response, Solicitor General recommended granting the petition, at least with respect to one of the questions. The SG’s brief underscores the consensus that Alice has spawned more uncertainty than predictability.
Read MoreEarlier this year, the Federal Circuit issued two precedential decisions that were predicted to stem the tide of early dismissals based upon Alice motions. The cases were Berkheimer v. HP and Aatrix Software v. Green Shades Software, and there were both deemed precedential by the Federal Circuit. A recent concurrence at the Federal Circuit, however, shows that the Court may be splitting over the rationale underpinning Berkheimer and Aatrix, and that split may be heading for the Supreme Court.
Read MoreCloudflare recently prevailed on its motion to invalidate patents as ineligible in a case commenced by Blackbird Tech. But Cloudflare’s win may be in jeopardy. Two recent decisions from the Federal Circuit have held that winning on early Alice motions, like the one on which Cloudflare prevailed, will now be more difficult.
Read MoreAnyone who has followed Federal Circuit cases addressing Alice decisions has felt the whip-saw brain squeeze of trying to reconcile them all. While some clear guidelines have emerged that have made assessing whether a given patent is susceptible to Alice, there remains a thick, gray cloud over how, exactly, the two-step framework applies in practice. Two recent decisions from the Federal Circuit, Berkheimer v. HP and Aatrix Software v. Green Shades Software, may have established some more concrete guidance on handling early Alice motions in patent cases.
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