Heart-Monitoring Patent Gives Life to New Section 101 Dispute

Judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit disagree whether prior art outside the prosecution history should be consulted when deciding if a patent is directed to a longstanding "abstract idea."

April 17, 2020 at 08:20 PM

3 minute read

Scott Graham

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has revived a long-running patent infringement fight between providers of ambulatory cardiac monitoring systems. Along the way it's opened a new front in the ongoing debate over how to properly analyze Section 101 defenses.

The court found that a CardioNet Inc. patent on an automated process for identifying atrial fibrillation and flutter, and distinguishing them from more benign forms of cardiac arrhythmia, is eligible for patent protection.