Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
07.12.13
The Federal Circuit’s decision on when software is eligible for a patent provided little guidance. However, the court did hand down significant decisions that will allow for early appeals of infringement decisions and provide an additional defense to induced infringement. William Atkins, partner in Pillsbury’s intellectual property practice in Northern Virginia, commented on the case of CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp. Pty Ltd.
Atkins said that while the highly anticipated decision held that Alice’s patents were invalid, the court could not agree on a legal standard, issuing six conflicting opinions. As a result, there is no way of knowing how software patents should be evaluated in the future.
“En banc decisions shouldn’t be unanimous, but they should provide guidance,” Atkins said. “It’s just a shame that his one came out half-baked.”