Covered Business Method Review Is All Or Nothing

Edited by Paul Devinsky and Rita Weeks

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Co.

In the final written decision of the second covered business method (CBM) patent review, the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) cancelled all claims under review, noting that instituting a CBM review based on a patent-eligible subject matter challenge is an all-or-nothing proposition; as long as the subject matter of at least one claim is directed to a covered business method, then all of the claims of the patent are eligible for covered business method patent review.  Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Progressive Casualty Insurance Co., Case CBM2012-00002 (PTAB, Jan. 23, 2014) (Lee, APJ).