Skky Found The Limit For "Means" Terms

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not err in its conclusions that a claim element reciting "means" did not invoke § 112 ¶ 6 and that the challenged claims were unpatentable as obvious. Skky, Inc. v. MindGeek, s.a.r.l., Case No. 16-2018 (Fed. Cir., June 7, 2017) (Lourie, J).

The patent at issue describes a method for delivering audio and/or visual files to a wireless device. Prosecution leading to the patent lasted almost seven years, and the Examiner eventually allowed the claims over the prior art after the claims were amended to recite a "wireless device means," which the Examiner believed to be a means-plus-function term that would invoke 35 USC § 112 ¶ 6.