Dechert Wins Summary Judgment for 3DLabs in Patent Infringement Suit brought by FuzzySharp Technologies

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order on December 11, 2009, granting Dechert's motion for summary judgment of invalidity on behalf of 3DLabs in a patent infringement litigation involving two patents related to 3D graphics technology. 3DLabs is a pioneer in 3D graphics technology.

The lawsuit, which was brought by FuzzySharp Technologies Inc., alleged that 3DLabs had infringed two FuzzySharp patents through the use, development, testing, and sale of graphics cards that included functionality related to calculating which surfaces are visible in 3D images.

Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong of the Northern District of California granted Dechert's motion for summary judgment, holding that all of the asserted claims were invalid for failure to satisfy the machine-or-transformation test for patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. s101. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit established the machine-or-transformation test as the definitive test for patentability of method claims in its 2008 decision in In re Bilski. This district court decision represents one of the first few cases where the district courts have applied the machine-or-transformation test to computer-implemented methods since the Federal Circuit announced this test on October 30, 2008.

The Federal Circuit's decision in In re Bilski is currently on appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Silicon Valley-based Dechert team representing 3DLabs was led by partner Jonathan D. Baker, and included associate David Saunders.

About Dechert's Intellectual Property Practice

Dechert's international IP team collaborates with technology, life sciences, and financial services companies to protect and maximize their IP assets around the world. We handle the full range of IP litigation matters, including complex, multi-jurisdictional patent litigation and trade secret, trademark, and copyright disputes. We also represent companies in worldwide patent portfolio development, management, defense, and enforcement, and handle the full range of IP and technology transactions.

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