Spencer Fane attorney Erick Robinson was recently quoted in an IP Watchdog article discussing American Axle & Mfg., Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, a case whose petition was just denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. That decision now leaves it to Congress and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to clarify the U.S. patent eligibility law.
In the article, American Axle Denied: Patent Stakeholders Sound Off on SCOTUS’ Refusal to Deal with Eligibility, Erick is one of 12 thought leaders in the patent community to share his opinions on what happened, and what it means for the future of patent law.
Erick states, “Certainty is essential to both accused infringers and patent owners. Even if the strike zone is wrong, it should be consistent. We thus continue the confusing path toward the black box of Alice, with some district courts killing half of the patents before them while other courts rarely grant § 101 motions. This is wasteful, misguided, and disappointing.”
Based in Texas, Erick is a partner and co-chair of the Intellectual Property practice at Spencer Fane. He manages and tries “bet-the-business” patent cases on both sides of the docket.
