Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

Steve Morsa v. Andre Iancu, Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2019-1757 · judgment April 10, 2020

Certiorari denied · October 5, 2020

Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

This Court has held that any machine or process is eligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101, subject only to narrow exceptions where the patent seeks to monopolize an abstract idea or law of nature. Despite this, the Federal Circuit and Patent Office have both run ineligibility amok. First, by ignoring this Court’s seminal Cuno flash of creative genius eligibility proof; second, by ignoring Patent Office proof of no undue preemption; and third, by usurping and overruling this Court’s Alice / Mayo claims analysis framework of identifying no more than one stated abstract concept to which all the claims at issue are directed to. Accordingly, the three questions presented are-

May the Federal Circuit and Patent Office ignore this Court’s seminal Cuno decision?
May the Federal Circuit and Patent Office ignore Patent Office proof of no undue preemption?
May the Federal Circuit and Patent Office establish their own Section §101 Law?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Steve Morsa

For respondent
Jeffrey B. Wall
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

Nov 09 2020
Rehearing DENIED.
Oct 21 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/6/2020.
Oct 13 2020
Petition for Rehearing filed.
Oct 05 2020
Petition DENIED.
Jul 29 2020
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
Jul 22 2020
Waiver of right of respondent Andre Iancu, Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office to respond filed.
Jul 09 2020
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due August 17, 2020)