CosmoKey Authentication Patent Revived by Federal Circuit

CosmoKey Solutions GmbH & Co. KG’s patent on a multifactor authentication technique covers more than just an abstract idea and is eligible for legal protection, the Federal Circuit said, reversing a lower court decision in an infringement suit.

A District of Delaware judge sided with defendant Duo Security Inc. and found U.S. Patent No. 9,246,903 was directed to nothing more than the abstract idea of “verification of identity to permit access to transactions.”

Even accepting the district court’s characterization of the patent claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said, the patent includes a specific improvement to ...