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ARTICLE · 29 NOVEMBER 2013

Perils Of Flirting With Means-Plus-Function Limitation

McDermott Will & Emery
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Addressing the question of indefiniteness of a claim limitation cast as a means for performing a specific function, subject to requirements of 35 USC § 112(f), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld summary judgment of indefiniteness, finding that certain algorithms disclosed in the specification did not adequately define the structure for performing the claimed functions.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Sarika Singh, Ph.D.
Sarika Singh, Ph.D.
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Ibormeith IP, LLC v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC

Addressing the question of indefiniteness of a claim limitation cast as a means for performing a specific function, subject to requirements of 35 USC § 112(f), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld summary judgment of indefiniteness, finding that certain algorithms disclosed in the specification did not adequately define the structure for performing the claimed functions. Ibormeith IP, LLC v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, Case No. 13-1007 (Fed. Cir., Oct. 22, 2013) (Taranto, J.).

Ibormeith patented a device for monitoring conditions affecting a vehicle driver's sleepiness and issuing of a warning to the driver before the driving is unduly impaired. The device may take into account multiple factors including natural body-clock (circadian) rhythm, the magnitude and number of corrective steering actions the driver is taking, the cabin temperature, the monotony of the road, and how long the driver has been

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