Fresh From the Bench: Latest Federal Circuit Court Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

Worlds Inc. v. Bungie, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2017-1481, -1546, -1583 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 7, 2018)
In appeals from three inter partes reviews, the Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB’s decision invalidating three patents and remanded for further consideration whether the petition was time barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b).  This is the second opinion in recent weeks to address the newly-developing framework for assessing whether a party is a “real party in interest” to an IPR petition.  See our write-up of Applications in Internet Time here.  Worlds Inc. largely addressed the framework for the burdens of production and persuasion as to real party in interest determinations.

The appeal involved three patents relating to “computer-generated display of avatars in a virtual world, including methods and systems to determine which particular avatars are displayed in a given situation.” Patent Owner Worlds Inc. asserted its patents against Activision Publishing, Inc., which develops and distributes video games such as Call of Duty.  Worlds added infringement claims against Destiny, a series of video game products distributed by Activision and developed by third-party Bungie, Inc.

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ALSO THIS WEEK

Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2017-2434, -2435 (Fed. Cir. Sept. 4, 2018)

In an appeal from a district court grant of summary judgment of non-infringement, the Federal Circuit remanded based on an erroneous claim construction.  The Federal Circuit found that the district court’s construction was overly narrow and did not reflect the plain and ordinary meaning of the term within the context of the specification as a whole.  Finding no disavowal, the Federal Circuit remanded for further consideration with the correct construction.  With respect to a separate claim limitation, however, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s construction of a means plus function term as being an indefinite “term of degree” that is “purely subjective.”

Opinion can be found here.

Written by: Scott Eads and Nika Aldrich, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

Contributor: Angela Addae