Federal Circuit Finds Loyalty Rewards Claims Ineligible

In cxLoyalty, Inc. v. Maritz Holdings Inc., Appeals 2020-1307, -1309 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2021), the Federal Circuit affirmed a PTAB final written decision in a CBM proceeding canceling Maritz’s original claims related to a GUI for a customer loyalty program, as ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The PTAB had granted Maritz’s … Continue Reading

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

By Noah K. Tilton on October 23, 2020 Posted in Section 101

In a recent precedential decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision, upholding an examiner’s final rejection of claims to a fishing method as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101. In re Rudy, Case 2019-2301, Slip Op. (Fed. Cir. Apr. 24, 2020). Appeals to both the Board and the Federal Circuit … Continue Reading

Federal Circuit Upholds Patent Ineligibility of Dice Game

By Matthew R. Carey on July 22, 2019 Posted in Appeals, Section 101

The Federal Circuit recently issued a decision in In re Marco Guldenaar Holding B.V., ruling the claims at issue were directed to the abstract idea of rules for playing a dice game. Finding that the recited elements did not amount to significantly more than that abstract idea itself, the court found the claims ineligible for … Continue Reading