In re Surgisil, No. 2020-1940 (October 4, 2021) (Presidential 3-0); Patent Application No. 29/491,550

Key point(s):

• A design claim that recites “a lip implant” limits the claim to lip implants and does not cover other articles of manufacture.

Cosmokey Solutions., v. Duo Security LLC, No. 2020-2043 (October 4, 2021) (Precedential 3-0); Patent No. 9,246,903

Key point(s):

• Claims directed to authentication can be patent-eligible under § 101.
• An improved method for overcoming hacking by ensuring that an authentication function is normally inactive, activating only for a transaction, communicating the activation within a certain time window, and thereafter ensuring that the authentication function is automatically deactivated constitutes an improvement that increases computer and network security, prevents a third party from fraudulently identifying itself as the user, and is easy to implement even with mobile devices of low complexity, is a patent-eligible inventive concept.

Acceleration Bay Inc., v. Take Two Interactive Software Inc., No. 2020-1700 (October 4, 2021) (Precedential 3-0); Patent Nos. 6,701,344, 6,714,966, 6,910,069, and 6,920,497

Key point(s):

• Challenging a grant of summary judgement of non-infringement is moot when even a favorable ruling would leave the district court’s summary judgment intact and therefore not make a difference to the legal interests of the parties.

Snyders Heart Valve LLC v. St. Jude Medical, LLC, No. 2019-2111 (October 5, 2021) (nonprecedential); Patent Nos. 6,540,782 and 6,821,297

Key point(s):

• Support in the specification is crucial to claim construction.
• Remand to the PTAB is improper when the court’s previous findings in a related matter are determinative of the case at hand.

Kannuu Pty Ltd. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., No. 2021-1638 (October 7, 2021) (Precedential 2-1)

Key point(s):

• A forum selection clause in a non-disclosure agreement does not control the forum for related patent issues unless the agreement is also a patent license or explicitly applies to inter partes review.