This computer-based patent infringement case presents the same questions pending before the Court in American Axle & Mfg, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, No. 20-891. Both petitions arise from judgments entered by the same district court judge. Ameranth filed an amicus brief in support of certiorari in American Axle specifically identifying this case as one that will be affected by the result in No. 20-891. Although the cases involve different parties, inventions and patents, they both raise the same legal questions:
1. What is the appropriate standard for determining whether a patent claim is "directed to" a patent-ineligible concept under step 1 of the Alice two-step framework for determining whether an invention is eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101?
2. Is patent eligibility (at each step of the Court's two-step framework) a question of law for the court, based on the scope of the claims alone or a question of fact, based on the state of art at the time of the invention?
What is the appropriate standard for determining patent-eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101?