Section 101 Patent Eligibility Must Be Determined Independently for Each Claim

• Case Summary
  : A patent on 3D computer graphics requires claim construction by the lower court before it can determine if the asserted claims are directed to statutory subject matter.
• Key Takeaway
  : The court’s nonprecedential decision suggests that patent eligibility must be determined on a claim-by-claim basis.

In a nonprecedential per curiam opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Nov. 4 that patent subject matter eligibility is determined for each claim independently (Fuzzysharp Technologies Inc. v. 3DLabs Inc., Fed. Cir., 2010-1160, 11/4/11).

The court reversed and remanded a pre-Bilski finding of patent ...