Anti-piracy troll loses at Federal Circuit

Sega beats Uniloc at Federal Circuit

Uniloc’s patent for anti-piracy software has been invalidated in a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling.

The federal circuit affirmed the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision, which held the patent as “unpatentable for being anticipated and obvious”.

Uniloc asserted the patent in an inter-partes review at the PTAB against video game developer, Sega.

After its loss at the PTAB, the defensive patent aggregator then appealed to the federal circuit, arguing that the PTAB erred in its priority analysis.

The federal circuit concluded that the PTAB did not commit any factual or legal errors in its analysis and confirmed its decision.

Uniloc, which is often pegged as a non-practicing entity, or ‘patent troll’, has been involved in various high profile patent disputes this year and in March, sued Google and Amazon in two separate lawsuits.

Last year, Uniloc sued Apple alleging infringement of its instant messaging patents. It has also sued Electronic Arts and Microsoft.