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WURC vs. WORK: The Evidentiary Asymmetry Between § 101’s “Inventive Concept” and § 103’s Obviousness Framework
On February 6, 2026, the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for all asserted claims across six patents in Innovaport LLC v. Target Corp., No. 24-1545 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 6, 2026) (nonprecedential). The patents claimed systems and methods for providing product location information within a retail store: receiving a customer’s query, searching a database containing product locations and related information, and returning results that included cross-referenced product suggestions. The court found the claims directed to the abstract idea of “collecting, analyzing, retrieving, and displaying information” at Alice step one, then concluded at step two that the additional elements added no “inventive concept.”
USPTO’s August 2025 Memo: A Potential Boost for AI and Software Patents
On August 4, 2025, the USPTO issued a subject matter eligibility memorandum aimed at examiners in key technology centers handling AI and software inventions. The memo makes clear that it is not intended to announce new policy or procedure but rather to reinforce longtime guidance under 35 U.S.C. § 101.