WeatherTech Vehicle Floor Mat Patent Case Snubbed by High Court

The US Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal of a Federal Circuit decision canceling an Illinois company’s patent on a custom-fit vehicle floor mat.

The justices declined to take up MacNeil IP LLC’s petition questioning whether a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling on its patent associated with a mat for cars and trucks marketed under the WeatherTech brand had exceeded its authority.

A panel of Federal Circuit judges found US Patent No. 8,382,186 invalid, ruling its claims were obvious based on earlier inventions and a book about plastics processing. In doing so, the court reversed a ...