Functional Claiming for Software Patents: Leveraging Recent Court Treatment

Description

In Williamson v. Citrix Online, the Federal Circuit issued a decision relating to means-plus-function claims. This decision is having a dramatic impact on interpreting functional claim terms, regardless of whether claim language is subject to being construed in prosecution, post-grant challenges at the PTAB, or district court litigation.

Since Williamson, patentees must meet a heightened standard of review by sufficiently disclosing the functional basis for software. It is not enough to claim a general purpose computer as the structure performing the function. Instead, the patentee must disclose the algorithm that performs the stated function.

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys provides a quick review of the Williamson decision, discusses how the courts have applied the Williamson decision, and then examines functional claiming in the context of software patents. The panel will explore the benefits and risks involved with using functional claims and offer best practices for surviving Section 112(f) and leveraging functional claims to maximize patent protection.