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Difficulty In Articulating Description Is Relevant To A Determination Of Indefiniteness

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.12.06

In Xerox Corp. v. 3Com Corp , (No. 04-1470), the Federal Circuit reverses in part, vacates in part and remands the district court's summary judgment of invalidity of U.S. Patent No. 5,596,656 (“the ‘656 patent'). Xerox brought suit against 3COM alleging infringement of the ‘656 patent by the “Graffiti” system used in 3Com's PalmPilot devices. The Federal Circuit, which had previously remanded this case on two separate occasions, finds that the district court erred in concluding the term “sloppiness space” is insolubly ambiguous and thereby invalid. The specification, although not considered as providing a rigorously precise description, is deemed nonetheless to provide adequate guidance, “particularly in light of the difficulty in articulating a more exact standard for the concept.”

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Client Alert | 5 min read | 08.21.26

FTC Proposes Enforcement Policy Statement on Personalized Pricing: What Businesses Need to Know

On August 19, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed Enforcement Policy Statement on personalized pricing — the practice of companies using consumers’ personal data to set individualized prices, discounts, coupons, or other incentives. The proposed statement, which is open for public comment for 30 days following publication in the Federal Register, marks a major step up in the FTC’s focus on data-driven pricing strategies and puts businesses across industries on notice that undisclosed or inadequately disclosed personalized pricing will not be tolerated. Importantly, while the proposed statement is not a binding legal requirement and does not create new legal obligations, it serves as an enforcement warning that the FTC is prepared to use its existing enforcement authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act (Section 5) and is also a potential harbinger of rulemaking. Businesses that engage in — or are considering — personalized pricing should carefully assess their disclosure practices and data collection procedures against the standards articulated in this statement....

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