For our weekly SoCal IP Institute meeting on Monday, May 6th, 2019, we will discuss the following cases:

In re Paul Morinville., (CAFC April 29th  2019) (Available Here). An inventor filed a patent application for “Systems and methods for dynamically and selectively generating a hierarchical functional organization”. The PTAB rejected the claims under 35 U.S.C. 101 as directed to an abstract idea. The Federal Circuit affirmed applying the abstract idea framework of Alice.

In Re: Siny Corp  (CAFC April 10, 2019) (Available Here) Applicant applied for a trademark at the USPTO, but the application was rejected because the specimen filed did not contain information on where or how a consumer could purchase the goods. On Appeal the Federal Circuit agreed with the examiner and affirmed the rejection.

Omega Patents LLC v. CalAmp Corp  (CAFC April 8, 2019) (Available Here). CalAmp sold a product that allowed users to electronically monitor vehicles. Omega Patents sued them for patent infringement. The district court found Omega’s claims infringed and awarded $15 million in damages plus an ongoing royalty of $13 a unit. On appeal the Federal Circuit vacated most of the infringement claims. The court reasoned that because the system required a receiver of a cell tower, and CalAmp did not own the cell towers the system used, they could not be held liable for direct infringement.

All are invited to join us on Monday April 6th, 2019, at noon in our Westlake Village office. This activity is approved for 1 hour of MCLE credit. If you will be joining us, please RSVP to Elisha Manzur by 9 am Monday morning.