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17 October 2017Patents

Federal Circuit finds mail patents invalid under Alice despite Enfish plea

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a district court decision that found seven patents belonging to patent licensing company Secured Mail Solutions (SMS) invalid under the Alice Corp v CLS Bank ruling.

This is despite SMS stating that the decision in Enfish v Microsoftwhich adopted a more permissive approach to computer-related technology—meant its patents shouldn’t be invalidated.

The dispute began after a complaint was made by SMS, which was set up by former lawyer Todd Fitzsimmons “to pursue the using and licensing of his inventions”. SMS accused marketing company Universal Wilde of infringing seven patents relating to various systems and methods for mail verification.

That complaint was filed at the US District Court for the Central District of California in September 2015, which four months later granted a request by Universal Wilde to invalidate the patents under Alice.

On appeal SMS stated that the Enfish decision, in May 2016, meant its software was patent-eligible, but this was struck down by the Federal Circuit.

“Here, despite the district court’s statement that ‘a reasonably high level of generality’ should be used, the district court’s analysis correctly found that Secured Mail’s claims are directed to an abstract idea,” said Circuit Judge Jimmy Reyna, who handed down the unanimous ruling from the three-judge panel.

The case is the second time in two months the Federal Circuit has ruled on a case relating to mail patents, after clearing the US Postal Service (USPS) of any wrongdoing in August.

As reported by WIPR, Return Mail had accused USPS of infringing a patent covering ‘return to sender’ technology.

The Federal Circuit backed a decision by the US Patent and Trademark Office to invalidate US patent number 6,826,548 after finding it was also abstract under Alice.

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