Federal Court of Appeals Overturns and Affirms PTAB Decisions in Favor of Blue Calypso

DALLAS, March 03, 2016 -- Blue Calypso, Inc. (OTCQB:BCYP), an innovator of mobile consumer activation, engagement and social advocacy solutions for manufacturers and brick-and-mortar retailers, announced today that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued their ruling in favor of the Company on two of the four substantive issues heard by the honorable circuit Judges Renya, Schall, and Chen on December 7, 2015. 

“We are thrilled with the Federal Circuit’s ruling which has resulted in the reinstatement of several important lost claims in our ‘516 patent.  We believe this will create opportunities for much greater value realization of our patent assets.  This is a very significant positive event for the Company,” said Andrew Levi, Chairman and CEO of Blue Calypso.

The ruling, which is described further below, brings back to life certain claims in Blue Calypso’s first issued patent, the ‘516 patent. This ruling re-establishes the earliest possible priority date for the other patents in Blue Calypso’s family that claim priority to the ‘516 patent.  The early priority date also potentially pushes back the earliest date for infringement and damages to February 6, 2010, the issue date of the ‘516 patent.

On December 19, 2013 and January 17, 2014, the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) granted the petitions filed by Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) for review under the program for covered business method patents (CBMR) of the America Invents Act (AIA).

In December 2014, the PTAB issued its final written decisions, in which it found that various claims of the Blue Calypso patents were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102. The PTAB further found certain claims of the ’516 patent invalid under § 112 for lack of written description. The PTAB rejected Groupon’s argument that various claims of the patents were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 103.

The Company and Groupon each appealed the PTAB decisions to the United States Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit.  Blue Calypso appealed the invalidity determinations as well as the decision to review its patents under the provisions for CBMR.  Groupon cross-appealed the Board’s decision.  

On Monday, March 1, 2016, the Federal Circuit overturned the decision as to insufficient written description but upheld the invalidity based upon 35 U.S.C. § 102 anticipation of several claims of the patents by the prior art Paul reference.

As a part of the PTAB appeal process, the parties had agreed to jointly stay their infringement suits in the Eastern District of Texas.  Now that the Federal Circuit appeal process has concluded, and the ‘516 patent has survived, the parties are required to submit a joint schedule for resuming litigation within ten (10) days.  “We are pleased with the Federal Circuit’s decision to reverse the PTAB on the question of invalidity of the ‘516 patent due to the lack of written description, and to affirm the holding that the Ratsimor reference was not a printed publication.  We are eager to get to trial to bring this long process to a successful conclusion,” said Carl Bruce, Partner at Fish & Richardson.  “We are also considering options for further appellate review,” added Levi.

The full Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruling can be found here http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions-orders/15-1391.Opinion.2-29-2016.1.PDF. 

About Blue Calypso, Inc.  Dallas-based Blue Calypso, Inc. (OTCQB:BCYP) develops and delivers an innovative location-centric mobile shopper engagement experience for brands, retailers and consumers. The Company’s KIOSentrix® platform connects consumers to brands, drives local in-store traffic, increases shopper spend and shortens the consumer’s path-to-purchase. The company was recently selected to Retail CIO Outlook magazine’s “Top 10 Merchandising Solution Providers – 2016”.  For more information about the company, please visit www.bluecalypso.com.

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