Apple v Universal Secure

The outcome

The patent at issue in this appeal is U.S. Patent No. 8,856,539, owned by Universal Secure Registry LLC (USR). Apple filed a petition for an inter partes review, challenging several claims of the ’539 patent before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which instituted the requested review and eventually issued a final written decision that Apple had not shown the challenged claims to be unpatentable. In another case, we have affirmed a district court’s judgment that all claims of the ’539 patent are patent ineligible. Universal Secure Registry LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 20-2044 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 26, 2021). Therefore, as the parties agreed at oral argument, this appeal involving the ’539 patent is now moot. Apple Inc. v. Voip-Pal.com, Inc., 976 F.3d 1316, 1321 (Fed. Cir. 2020); Oral Arg. at 7:00–7:55, 25:00–26:40. We vacate the Board’s final written decision and remand for the Board to dismiss Apple’s petition. See Apple, 976 F.3d at 1321 (citing United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U.S. 36, 39–41 (1950)).