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ARTICLE · 30 MARCH 2016

IP Newsflash - March 18, 2016

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The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's (PTAB) determination of unpatentability for claims covering new rules for a card game.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn
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FEDERAL CIRCUIT CASES

"Bust!" — Federal Circuit Deals Tough News to Inventors of Card Game

The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's (PTAB) determination of unpatentability for claims covering new rules for a card game. The panel found the claims patentineligible under the Mayo twostep analysis for 35 U.S.C. § 101. First, they were directed to an abstract idea; second, they lacked an inventive concept sufficient to bridge the gap between abstract idea and invention.

In applying Mayo, the panel decided to stick with the Board's reasoning that the rules of a wagering game are like the ineligible methods from Alice (reducing risk in escrow settlement) and Bilski (reducing risk in price fluctuations) — wagering is "effectively, a method of exchanging and resolving financial obligations based on probabilities created during the distribution of the [playing] cards." Turning to the next step, the panel reasoned that the additional elements in

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