Welcome to Skilled in the Art. I'm Law.com IP reporter Scott Graham. Term 2018 is set to get under way next week at the Supreme Court, and we can add one more narrow, niche-y case to the court's IP docket. It looks as if we'll get volume this year but maybe not any blockbusters. I've also got a hot take on Bumble's Section 101 challenge to Match Group. Read on below.

As always you can email me your thoughts and feedback and follow me on Twitter.

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Rimini Street Paves Narrow Path to High Court

Earlier this week I previewed Term 2018 for intellectual property at the Supreme Court. Two esteemed observers said it's probably going to be a sleepy year, while another said she wouldn't be surprised if the court turns to some soft IP cases, particularly where substantive IP law intersects with general civil procedure.

Following the initial results from Monday's long conference, all three of them appear to be right on point.

The court granted cert in Rimini Street v. Oracle, a jury trial in which Oracle was awarded $35 million for copyright infringement, $14 million for violations of anti-hacking laws, $35 million in attorney fees and a permanent injunction limiting Rimini Street's software services.

None of that is before the Supreme Court. Instead, the justices will decide whether U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks had the authority to tack on an additional $12 million in non-taxable costs.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Mark Perry framed the case as a “pristine vehicle” for resolving a circuit split over the Copyright Act's authorization of “full costs” for prevailing parties. The question is whether that means something more than the specific taxable costs outlined in 28 USC Sections 1920 and 1821.

I cannot say that Rimini Street wasn't on anyone's radar. It merited a Petition of the Day at SCOTUSblog. Twelve million dollars is a lot of money, and the parties have lined up top-shelf appellate counsel: Perry for Rimini Street, Kirkland & Ellis partner Paul Clement for Oracle. It should make for an entertaining argument.

In the meantime, add one more case to the court's procedural housekeeping docket.

A Blind Date With Section 101

The legal conflict between the owners of the Bumble and Tinder dating apps heated up again this week. First, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd announced Mondaythat her company has now served its six-month old trade secrets suit on Match Group—a claim Match disputed—while moving forward with plans for an IPO.

Second, Bumble filed a motion to dismiss Match's patent infringement suit from last March, arguing that Match's key patent claims are ineligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act. “Humans performed the abstract idea of matchmaking claimed in the 811 patent long before the advent of computers,” Bumble argues in a motion signed by Cooley partner Joseph Drayton.

But to make the analogy work, the traditional matchmaker described in Bumble's motion would also collect pictures of potential matches “from various social media sites” and then present them to a client in organized piles. “When Client A moves the picture of the first potential match to the separate pile, Client A sees the picture of a second potential match that had been underneath the picture of the first potential match,” Drayton writes.

It's been a long time since I saw Fiddler on the Roof, but that's not exactly the way I remember it working.

Bumble is also represented by The Dacus Firm. Match Group is represented by Caldwell, Cassady & Curry; Gillam & Smith and Naman Howell Smith & Lee. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas.

A Tale of Two Audiences

PTO director Andrei Iancu has been eager to explain his priorities in public, and before a variety of audiences. A couple of upcoming events are notable. On Nov. 13he'll march into a lion's den of tech company IP leaders at Unified Patents' Corporate IP Strategy Conference. Iancu will be keynoting at the event, which is cosponsored by Santa Clara University's High Tech Law Journal and held at the university. Facebook IP chief Allen Lo will be a second keynote speaker.

On Nov. 29, Iancu will address a more patent owner-oriented audience at the IP Awareness Summit at Columbia University. The Center for Intellectual Property Understanding is presenting the event in conjunction with Columbia Technology Ventures. Other featured speakers will include IBM Chief Patent Counsel Manny Schecter.

Meanwhile, be very afraid: Next month the PTO will be re-upping its annual #CreepyIP social media campaign.

IP on the Move

Crowell & Moring has announced the addition of Gunther Meyer to its IP group in Brussels. Meyer joins the firm from Eversheds Sutherland. “Gunther's experience in Belgian, EU, and international IP and regulatory matters, especially in the life sciences sector, will further strengthen our practice,” Kristof Roox, co-managing partner of the firm's Brussels office, said in a written statement.

Paul Hastings has signed up David Beckwith as of counsel in its Palo Alto and San Diego offices. Beckwith joins from Fitzgerald Knaier. He was previously a partner at McDermott Will & Emery, which is also a former home to Yar Chaikovsky, now global co-chair of the IP practice at Paul Hastings.

“David is a skilled first-chair trial lawyer with a long track record of success in federal courts throughout the country, at the International Trade Commission, and at the PTAB,” Chaikovsky said in a written statement.

“I look forward to reuniting with former colleagues and complementing this deep roster of trial lawyers,” Beckwith said.

That's all from Skilled in the Art for this week. I'll see you all again on Tuesday.