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USPTO Denies CBM Petition Against RPost

Fulwider Patton's John K. Fitzgerald successfully persuaded the Patent Trial and Appeal Board ("PTAB") of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") to deny the Petition requesting institution of a covered business method ("CBM") patent review of RPost Communications Limited's U.S. Patent No. 8,161,104 based on the threshold finding that the patent was for a “technological invention.” The PTAB found that the patent recites a technical solution of an intermediary server to provide platform-independent proof that an email has been opened, without requiring special e-mail software by the sender or the recipient. A copy of the PTAB decision may be accessed here.

The Petition was filed by Experian Marketing Solutions, Inc., Epsilon Data Management, LLC, and Constant Contact, Inc., and was assigned Case No. CBM2014-00064. Such petitions to institute CBM review are often routinely granted by the PTAB, but this is the third petition against which John Fitzgerald has successfully argued to the PTAB that a CBM review not be instituted.

Fulwider Patton LLP is one of the oldest and most respected independent intellectual property law firms in Southern California, serving clients in all areas of intellectual property including patents, trademarks, copyrights, Internet domain name disputes, trade secrets and unfair competition. With offices in Los Angeles, California, Fulwider Patton LLP represents clients throughout California, the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim.