Update: Is it Accessible? Internet Publications As CBM Prior Art

On March 1, 2016, the Federal Circuit, in Blue Calypso, LLC v. Groupon, Inc. (Appeal Nos. 15-1391, -1393, and -1394), ruled that a document posted on a webpage did not qualify as prior art under the printed publication provision of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b). The Court's decision provides guidance on the evidence required to show that a webpage is publicly accessible and qualifies as a printed publication.

There are at least three options for showing public accessibility for webpages on the Internet: (1) evidence that the reference was actively distributed to the public or actually retrieved by members of the public, (2) evidence that the prior art was indexed, and (3) the presence of a research aid. The Federal Circuit addressed options 2 and 3 in its opinion.