Federal Circuit Eyes PTO Standards in Versata Appeal

On December 3, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the first appeal of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision related to covered business method patents. The court will hear arguments in Versata Development Group v. SAP America, in which Versata is challenging the PTAB's decision in favor of SAP, invalidating Versata’s patent for calculating product prices. SAP, represented by Finnegan attorney Erika H. Arner, filed its petition for the PTAB to institute a review of Versata's patent claims on the first day Congress made covered business method patent review available; the petition was the first PTAB petition ever filed under the new law.