This morning, the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions, one nonprecedential order, and one Rule 36 summary affirmance. Both opinions come in patent cases, one from the Central District of California and one from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Today’s order is a dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions as well as links to the summary affirmance and dismissal.
Piranha Media Distribution LLC v. Hulu, LLC (Nonprecedential)
Piranha Media Distribution LLC (“Piranha”) sued Hulu, LLC (“Hulu”) for infringement of patent claims relating to the integration of advertisements in digital media. The United States District Court for the Central District of California granted Hulu’s motion to dismiss, concluding that the asserted patents do not claim patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Piranha Media Distrib., LLC v. Hulu, LLC, 748 F. Supp. 3d 928, 938–39 (C.D. Cal. 2024) (“Decision”). We affirm.
Syngenta Crop Protection AG v. UPL Ltd. (Nonprecedential)
UPL Ltd. (UPL) owns U.S. Patent No. 11,445,727, whose subject is certain fungicidal combinations—of a dithiocarbamate fungicide, a succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicide, and at least one of an ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitor (EBI) fungicide or a quinone outside inhibitor (QOI) fungicide. ’727 patent, Abstract. Syngenta Crop Protection AG (Syngenta) successfully sought from the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) a post-grant review (PGR), under 35 U.S.C. §§ 321–329, of all claims of the ’727 patent, asserting unpatentability on several anticipation and obviousness grounds. The PTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) held all challenged claims to be unpatentable. Syngenta Crop Protection AG v. UPL Ltd., No. PGR2023-00017, 2024 WL 3549758, at *37 (P.T.A.B. July 26, 2024) (Decision). UPL appeals.
During the PGR proceedings, Syngenta requested leave from the Board to file a motion for sanctions against UPL, alleging that various field trials reported in the ’727 patent never took place. J.A. 5734–36. The Board denied the request. J.A. 5734. Syngenta cross-appeals.
We reject both UPL’s and Syngenta’s challenges, and we therefore affirm the challenged Board rulings.