On March 6, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed decisions from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in consolidated Case Nos. 6:21-cv-00347 and 6:21-cv-01007, Judge Alan D. Albright, finding the claims of the ’035 patent indefinite. Maxell, Ltd. v. Amperex Technology Ltd., __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. March 6, 2024). In its precedential decision reversing and remanding, the CAFC found that the district court erred in finding claim language contradictory and therefore indefinite.

On October 6, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) issued an opinion affirming the Western District of Texas’s holding of indefiniteness as to certain claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,751,585 (the “’585 Patent”).  WSOU Investments LLC (“WSOU”) accused Google LLC (“Google”) of infringing independent claim 9, and claims 10-16 dependent therefrom, of the ’585 Patent.  The ’585 Patent is directed to a management method for electronic messages in a user’s inbox in a communication system.  The district court construed the limitation, “a collaborative application management processor configured to manage collaborative application,” to be indefinite as a means-plus-function limitation without sufficient corresponding structure.

On January 27, 2022, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California finding certain claims invalid on the ground of claim indefiniteness under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), because the district court erred by applying an incorrect legal standard.  Nature Simulation Sys. Inc. v. Autodesk, Inc., __ F.4th __ (Fed. Cir. Jan. 27, 2022).

On September 10, 2021, Judge Richard G. Andrews of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued a Memorandum Opinion on claim construction.  Peloton Interactive, Inc. v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., No. 20-662-RGA, slip. op. (D. Del. Sept. 10, 2021).  Judge Andrews held that certain claims of the asserted patent containing “translator device…” limitations were invalid as indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 6 because they failed to disclose corresponding structure for the claimed function.

On September 9, 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in a post-grant review proceeding construing the claim term “pressure control assembly” as a means-plus-function limitation and finding the challenged claims indefinite for lack of corresponding structure.  Team Worldwide Corp. v. Intex Recreation Corp., __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. Sept. 9, 2021)