PNC Axes USAA Check-Deposit Patent Behind $218 Million Verdict

The Federal Circuit invalidated a USAA patent Monday that was part of a $218.5 million infringement verdict against PNC Bank NA over mobile phone check-scanning technology.

The appeals court affirmed a January 2023 decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that axed 10 claims from United Services Automobile Association’s US Patent No. 8,977,571 as obvious in its opinion.

USAA had argued the PTAB ruling should be set aside because it was inconsistent with an earlier decision by the administrative tribunal rejecting a Wells Fargo Bank NA challenge to the same patent involving “functionally identical prior art.”

But Judge ...