Gust, Inc. v. AlphaCap Ventures LLC On September 28, 2018, the Federal Circuit reversed the District Court’s finding that plaintiff’s counsel Gutride was liable for attorney’s fees and costs incurred by defendant Gust in defending a lawsuit on brought on behalf of Gutride’s client, AlphaCap. Gust argued that AlphaCap’s patent directed to internet crowdfunding was patent ineligible under Alice, which was decided after AlphaCap brought suit, and the asserted claims were not colorable within the settled law. The Federal Circuit disagreed, finding that the question of patent eligibility under §101 remained unsettled in the aftermath of Alice and that “it is particularly important to allow attorneys the latitude necessary to challenge and thus solidify the legal rules without the chill of direct economic sanctions.” The Dissent argued that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in finding bad faith when the claims were directed to economic arrangements using generic computer technology that would have been rendered patent ineligible even prior to Alice.
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