DOJ Recommends High Court Probes in Patent Eligibility Appeals

The US Department of Justice urged the US Supreme Court to hear two cases involving whether a suitcase lock system and media display screen controller qualify for patent protection, suggesting the justices examine the exception for when a patent offers a technological improvement to an otherwise abstract concept.

The solicitor general wrote in a Wednesday brief addressing both cases that the Federal Circuit’s analysis was “erroneous” when it concluded the display screen and controller didn’t improve with technology an otherwise abstract idea. The court was correct, however, when it found the luggage locks didn’t cover a technological improvement that would ...