KLARQUIST NEWS
Klarquist Defeats Claims from Three Patents Asserted Against Mentor Graphics
On January 20, 2015, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Hon. Maxine M. Chesney) granted summary judgment to Mentor Graphics Corporation, invalidating all asserted claims of three patents for claiming patent-ineligible subject matter under Section 101 of the Patent Act. The order issued on a motion briefed and argued by Klarquist in an action brought against Mentor Graphics by Synopsys, Inc.
The patents describe algorithms in the field of integrated circuit design. The Court ruled that the claims cover patent-ineligible abstract ideas because they describe mental processes that could be performed by skilled designers either mentally or using pen and paper. The Court further held that the claims did not add an inventive concept that ensured that the claims cover significantly more than this patent-ineligible abstract idea.
The fourth patent asserted in the litigation is in inter partes review before the Patent and Trademark Office, upon the petition of Mentor represented by Klarquist, and the district court action is stayed with respect to that patent.
[Order on Motions for Summary Judgment]
Mentor Graphics is represented by Klarquist attorneys Kristin L. Cleveland, Klaus H. Hamm, Salumeh R. Loesch, Jeffrey S. Love, Andrew M. Mason, John D. Vandenberg, Mark W. Wilson, Garth A. Winn; and by O’Melveny & Myers attorneys Mark E. Miller, George A. Riley, and Luann L. Simmons.