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**MEANS-PLUS-FUNCTION EXPERT TESTIMONY FAILED TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF STRUCTURAL EQUIVALENCE
Genuine Enabling Tech., LLC v. Sony Grp. Corp., 24-1686 — Yesterday in an opinion by Judge CHEN, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court summary judgment that GET failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Sony’s PlayStation controllers and consoles infringed GET’s patent for computer input devices. GET argued the district court erred in determining its expert witness failed to show the claimed and accused structures were structurally equivalent.
The Federal Circuit disagreed. In its complaint, GET alleged the Bluetooth module within Sony’s products infringed the claim limitation “‘encoding means for synchronizing’ two input data streams” by “synchronizing user input from controller buttons with input from controller sensors.” The expert’s original report gave a “fairly detailed” description of the “way” the “encoding means” structure performed the synchronization function. However, during a Daubert hearing and on motion for reargument, GET and its expert “pared down” this description, limiting the analysis to only the role of a bit-rate clock in the synchronization function. This shift “neglected to address a significant fraction” of the “encoding means” structure without further explanation and failed to provide enough evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude GET’s and Sony’s products were structural equivalents.
(1 to 4 stars rate impact of opinion on patent & trademark law)
TILLIS, SCHIFF SEEK ANSWERS FROM ALI ON COPYRIGHT RESTATEMENT RESIGNATIONS
Yesterday Sens. THOM TILLIS (R-NC) and ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, sent a bipartisan letter to American Law Institute (ALI) Director DIANE WOOD raising concerns about the recently approved Copyright Restatement following reports that more than one-third of project participants, including IPO and copyright scholars and practitioners, resigned before its adoption in May 2025. The senators questioned whether longstanding concerns that the Restatement reflects policy views rather than existing statutory law were adequately addressed.
The letter asks ALI to identify those who resigned, explain how the Restatement can be considered an accurate statement of federal copyright law, and describe how courts and practitioners will be informed of dissenting views and methodological concerns. They also requested information about ALI’s approval process and whether disclaimers or updates are planned. They asked ALI to respond by March 19, 2026.
USPTO OPENS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICE AT UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has selected the University of Utah as the site of a new community engagement office to serve innovators across the region previously covered by the Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office. The Salt Lake City campus was chosen for its research activity and strong commercialization ecosystem spanning biotech, AI, advanced engineering, and energy.
The office will provide patent education and outreach to inventors, startups, small businesses, tribal communities, and rural populations throughout Utah and beyond. It joins Montana State and the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law in the USPTO’s expanding campus-based engagement network, which the agency says saves more than $3.3 million annually over its prior regional office model.
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LET’S FORGET THE TERM “SOFT IP”; ALSO, WRITERS ARE READERS
Soft IP – Reader BILL TOTH suggests moving away from saying “soft IP,” which sometimes is used to refer to non-patent IP including trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. It’s not a very descriptive term and there’s no precise definition for it. Bill says, “I have rarely, if ever, found a context where . . . the term ‘soft IP’ clarified, rather than confused, the conversation.” The Curmudgeon agrees. The fact that patent specialists usually have science or engineering degrees doesn’t mean that patent issues are “harder.” Many non-patent IP issues are highly complex. If you need to use a label for an area of IP, just call it copyright, trademark, trade secret, or patent, etc.
Be a Reader – BRYAN GARNER and other writing experts recommend reading more outside your profession to become a better writer. Voracious readers are exposed to diverse sentence structures and writing styles. They develop deep vocabulary too, which is a mark of a good writer. Neurological studies have shown a strong correlation between reading and writing. Of course, as once observed by Supreme Court Justice and humorist ANTONIN SCALIA, if you read too many tabloid newspapers, you may write like them.
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The Curmudgeon