PETITIONER ASKS SUPREME COURT: Has The Diehr Holding Been Overruled?
- Jason W. Rhodes
This lecture will discuss the Federal Circuit decision in Ficep Corp. v. Peddinghaus Corp. (August 21, 2023), and Ficep’s resultant petition for certiorari. The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the basis that Ficep’s claims are patent ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The patent is directed to the automated transfer of design data from a computer-aided design (CAD) model to a machine that manufactures the process. Ficep argued that, since its claims are directed to a statutory process of manufacturing and are patent eligible under the Supreme Court decision Diamond v. Diehr. In its certiorari petition, Ficep states the Supreme Court needs to confirm or overrule Diehr’s holding that patent claims directed to statutory subject matter are statutory regardless of whether or not they are improved with alleged non-statutory subject matter.