Banks, insurance companies, patent licensing shops and computer makers battled over Section 101 of the Patent Act, not at the D.C.-based courthouse, but before several hundred law students as the judges held court at six different Southern California law schools.
Patent holders such as Intellectual Ventures Management and DataTreasury Corp. argued that they’re claiming genuine technological advances worthy of protection, while companies such as Capital One Financial Corp. and Fidelity National Information Services Inc. accused them of using broad, generically worded patents to unfairly extract licensing fees.
