With its recent opinion in AAM, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings, LLC, No. 18-1763 (Fed. Cir. July 31, 2020), and a 6-6 stalemate by the court’s active judges on whether to take the case en banc, the Federal Circuit has now adopted—under the rubric of 35 U.S.C. §101—a formalized set of enablement-like requirements for patent claims. For a simple “threshold” eligibility test, section 101 has grown remarkably complex. Indeed, since the Supreme Court’s 2012 Mayo and 2014 Alice decisions re-cast patent eligibility into a “two-step framework,” the Section 101 test adjudges not just subject-matter eligibility and the three “limited” exceptions thereto, but also patentability or “inventive-concept” challenges predicated on comparisons to the prior art, see 35 U.S.C. §§ 102-103. And now the enablement-type requirements imposed by AAM v. Neapco.
Enablement
- The Truth Leaks Out: Justices Struggle with the Science, Sanofi Welcomes End to Functional Genus Claims in Amgen Oral Arguments
- What I’ll Be Watching for in the Amgen Oral Arguments
- Amgen Reply Brief Addresses Mischaracterizations by Sanofi, U.S. Government on Proper Enablement Inquiry for Genus Claims
- Will the Supreme Court Save Biopharma from CAFC Enablement Insanity?
- Amici for Sanofi Add Their Two Cents as Amgen’s Day in High Court Approaches
Recent Posts
- Iancu Agrees Key USPTO ANPRM Proposals Should be Handled by Congress
- The Intersection of NILS, NFTS, AI Creations, Big Data, and the Metaverse
- Understanding IP Matters: AI Bots, Creators, and Copyright — Learning to Live Together
- Clause 8: Joff Wild on Founding IAM for Chief IP Officers and EU Commission’s Anti-SEP Crusade
- UKIPO Issues New Trademark Guidance on NFTs, the Metaverse and Virtual Goods