Advanced Ground Info. Sys., Inc. v. Life360, Inc., No. 15-1732 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseAGIS, a technology company, software developer, and military contractor, owns the patents at issue, which relate to methods, devices, and systems for establishing a communication network for users of mobile devices, such as cellular phones. The patents, for example, allow multiple cellular phone users to monitor others’ locations and statuses via visual display of such information on a map. Life360 is the creator of a smartphone software application, designed to allow families to stay better connected. AGIS filed an infringement suit. Life360 asserted that the claim terms “symbol generator” and “CPU software” in the asserted claims invoked means-plus-function claiming allowed under 35 U.S.C. 112, paragraph 6, but failed to disclose adequate structure and, therefore, were indefinite under paragraph 2. After construing various claims, the district court found that the terms “symbol generator” and “CPU software” in the asserted claims invoked paragraph 6, and were indefinite under paragraph 2. The Federal Circuit affirmed. The patents do not disclose an operative algorithm for the claim elements reciting “symbol generator.” The function of generating symbols must be performed by some component of the patents, but the patents do not describe that component.
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