Qualcomm Gets Mixed Result in Attack on ParkerVision Patent (1)

Qualcomm Inc. won its bid to kill patent claims related to mobile data networks but lost its attack on other claims before a federal appeals court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Sept. 13 upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision invalidating several claims in ParkerVision Inc.'s patent and affirmed the board’s rejection of Qualcomm’s attempt to quash several other claims. Both sides had appealed the board’s ruling.

The decision shows the differences in how courts treat apparatus claims, which cover devices, and method claims, which cover ways to use a technology, when analyzing for obviousness. ...