Covington Team Joins Together for a Significant Victory for Autodesk

Covington brought together a strong team of both patent and appellate litigators to represent our client Autodesk before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Autodesk, a leading developer of computer-aided design (CAD) software, was accused of infringing three patents on methods and apparatuses for converting a design drawing of an internal system of a building into a detailed “manufacturing blueprint” that can be used to actually fabricate and build the system. A critical element of all the patents was the process of “mapping” geometrical information from the design drawing to standard fittings that can be used to construct the system. On behalf of Autodesk, Covington argued that the patents cover an abstract idea (mapping geometrical information and property values to standard fittings), and so claim unpatentable subject matter under the Supreme Court’s recent Alice decision. The Federal Circuit summarily affirmed the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Autodesk.

Covington's Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Group Chair Robert Long argued the appeal. Partners Clara Shin and George Pappas provided wise counsel throughout the appeal. George also participated in a moot court alongside Partner Richard Rainey and Associate Ali Mojibi.