Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential ruling in Optis Cellular Technology, LLC v. Apple, Inc. vacating infringement and damages judgments awarded to Optis by the Eastern District of Texas. The CAFC also reversed summary judgment rulings upholding Optis patent claims under 35 U.S.C. § 101, found that other claims did not invoke means-plus-function analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 6), and ruled that the district court’s jury instructions deprived Apple of its right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment—a constitutional argument that has not fared as successfully for patent owners protecting their intellectual property rights in administrative proceedings.

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