A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


Entries for tag: Abstract Idea

When mounting a Section 101 challenge, it is tempting to reduce the claimed invention to the broadest abstract concept possible (for example, "communications" or "data transfer"). The Federal Circuit has not given defendants much incentive to be more selective or specific in that regard. However, there are limits, and the defendants in APS Techs. v. Vertex Downhole, Inc., C.A. No. 19-1166-MN found them.

Oil Rig
Oil Rig Worksite Ltd, Unsplash

In a July 29, 2020 order Judge Noreika denied defendants' motion to dismiss because defendants' Section 101 challenge "oversimplified the claim to an improper level of abstraction." Defendants asserted that the claims were directed - at their heart - to "data transmission." Although Judge Noreika expressed some …