Datamize, LLC v. Plumtree Software, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
417 F.3d 1342 (2005)
Datamize's (plaintiff) patent for an electronic-kiosk authoring system claimed that interface screens be "aesthetically pleasing," and in its infringement suit against Plumtree (defendant), the district court granted Plumtree summary judgment that this claim was indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112, finding the phrase inherently subjective; Datamize appealed, arguing the phrase referred only to the subjective intent to create a pleasing design, not to an objectively assessable result.
Whether a patent's written specification will be indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 2, if it does not distinctly set forth the subject matter that the applicant regards as his invention.