Supreme Court Report

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iLife Technologies, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2020-1477 · judgment January 13, 2021


Certiorari denied · October 4, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 5% cert probability (95% interval 3%–8%)

Before the decision, modestly above the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a Federal Circuit decision below, and down for a business respondent.

Questions presented

The questions presented are the same as those presented in the petition for a writ of certiorari filed in connection with American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings, LLC, No. 20-891:

  1. What is the appropriate standard for determining whether a patent claim is “directed to” a patent-ineligible concept under step 1 of the Court’s two-step framework for determining whether an invention is eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101?

  2. Is patent eligibility (at each step of the Court’s two-step framework) a question of law for the court based on the scope of the claims or a question of fact for the jury based on the state of art at the time of the patent?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Michael Craig Wilson
Munck Wilson Mandala, LLP

For respondent
Kathleen Roberta Hartnett
Cooley LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Oct 04 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Sep 01 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  3. Sep 01 2021
    Reply of petitioner iLife Technologies, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
  4. Aug 18 2021
    Brief of respondent Nintendo of America, Inc. in opposition filed.
  5. Jul 08 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including August 18, 2021.
  6. Jul 02 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from July 19, 2021 to August 18, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Jun 14 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 19, 2021)