Inventors
Practical guidance for people protecting their own inventions.
Federal Circuit Affirms Section 101 Rejection of Pro Se Applicant's Barter Method Claims
In a nonprecedential October 28 opinion, the court agreed with the Board that Gregory John Wenkman's claims to a computer-implemented method for bartering groceries for silver and gold are directed to an abstract idea and lack an inventive concept.
Federal Circuit Denies Mandamus in In re Carter, Where Petitioner Says She Is the Inventor
In a nonprecedential October 23 order, the court denied a mandamus petition by Daitona Carter, who moved to intervene in a patent infringement action asserting she is the inventor and whose petition sought relief including a stay of related PTAB proceedings.
Army Gives Notice of Intent to License 3D-Printing Filament Patents to Zyltech Engineering
In an October 13 Federal Register notice, the Department of the Army announced its intent to grant Zyltech Engineering, LLC a partially exclusive license covering dual- and multi-material 3D-printing filaments under three U.S. patents and two published applications. Written objections are due within 15 days of publication.
Federal Circuit Affirms in In re Gamble After Pro Se Applicant Forfeited His Indefiniteness Arguments
In a nonprecedential October 7 opinion, the court affirmed because a pro se applicant forfeited his substantive arguments against indefiniteness rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), both on appeal and before the Board.
Your Provisional Application Just Became More Important
A precedential Federal Circuit decision in August 2026 held that a published application gets its provisional's earlier date, for prior-art purposes, only if the provisional supports at least one of the published claims. Thin, hurried provisionals were always risky. Now the risk runs in both directions.