This case concerns a patent dispute between Harris Brumfield, Trustee for Ascent Trust (Plaintiff-Appellant) and IBG LLC and Interactive Brokers LLC (Defendants-Appellees). The plaintiff alleged that the defendants infringed several patents owned by Trading Technologies International, Inc., the plaintiff’s predecessor. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected the plaintiff’s challenges and affirmed the district court’s rulings.

The district court had invalidated the asserted claims of two of the plaintiff’s patents under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The court also excluded one basis for recovering “foreign damages” proposed by the plaintiff’s damages expert, and denied the plaintiff’s post-verdict motion for a new trial on damages.

On appeal, the Federal Circuit held that the district court correctly applied the law in determining that the asserted claims of the patents were ineligible for patenting under § 101. The court also affirmed the district court’s decision to exclude certain damages evidence, and it upheld the denial of the plaintiff’s request for a new trial on damages. View “Brumfield v. IBG LLC” on Justia Law