IP Blog
35 USC § 101
Data Processing Claims Held Patent-Ineligible: Personal Web Technologies LLC v. Google LLC
In a precedential decision, the Federal Circuit has held patent-ineligible, under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test, claims of three patents directed to “data-processing systems that assign each data item a substantially unique name that depends on the item’s content—a content-based identifier.” PersonalWeb Techs. LLC v. Google LLC, Nos. 2020-1543, 2020-1553, 2020-1554 (Fed. Cir. August 12, 2021) (Opinion by...
Internet Data Backup Not Patent-Eligible under § 101: WhitServe LLC v. DropBox, Inc.
Patent claims directed to backing up data to a client’s computers where the data has been outsourced for processing via the Internet failed the patent-eligibility test under the Alice/Mayo test and 35 U.S.C. § 101. WhitServe LLC v. DropBox, Inc., No. 2019-2334 (Fed. Cir. April 26, 2021) (non-precedential; opinion by Judge Reyna, joined by Judges Schall and Wallach). Perhaps the most...
Wireless Surveillance System with Generic Components is Patent-Ineligible: Sensormatic Elect., LLC, v. Wize Labs, Inc.
In granting a motion to dismiss based on lack of patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test, a court held that patent claims for multiple patents directed to “wireless surveillance systems for monitoring a target environment” are abstract ideas, and “merely implement[ing] the abstract idea of wireless communication and remote surveillance using well-known, generic computer components and...
CAFC Easily Invalidates Mobile Device Search Patent under Alice: British Telecommunications PLC v. IAC/InterActiveCorp.
Patent claims directed to presenting a user with a “short list” of “information sources” for selection based on a user location are patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test. British Telecommunications PLC v. IAC/InterActiveCorp., No. 2019-1917 (Fed. Cir. June 3, 2020) (opinion by Judge Taranto, joined by Judges Dyk and Hughes) (non-precedential). The Federal Circuit panel upheld the...
Method for Providing Enhanced Functionality in Exchange for Personal Information is Ineligible: Veripath, Inc. v. Didomi
In granting a motion to dismiss based on lack of patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test, a court held that patent claims directed to “granting permission to access personal information in exchange for enhanced functionality…[of] a routine piece of software” are abstract ideas, and “merely stat[ing] that the claims teach a technology-based solution, which improves the...
Extrinsic Evidence and Abstract Ideas in Patent-Eligibility: CardioNet, LLC v. InfoBionic, Inc.
What if any limits are there on the extrinsic evidence (prior art) that can be considered in determining whether a patent claim is drawn to an abstract idea under step one of the Alice/Mayo 35 U.S.C. § 101 patent-eligibility test? And to what extent does the answer to this question matter; is it merely academic? In CardioNet, LLC v. InfoBionic, Inc.,...
Federal Circuit Affirms § 101 Ineligibility of Set-Top Box Advertising Claims: Customedia Techs., LLC v. Dish Network Corp.
Claims of two patents directed to “data management and on-demand rental and purchase of digital data products,” e.g., selling advertising to be displayed via a set-top box, recites patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test, held the Federal Circuit in Customedia Techs., LLC v. Dish Network Corp., No. 2018-2239 (March 6, 2020) (precedential). The Federal Circuit, in...
Determining a Discount to Encourage Participation in an Electronic Trading System is Ineligible
The District of Delaware held that patent claims for multiple patents directed to “electronic trading and settlement systems” are abstract ideas, and “[e]ncouraging participation in a system in which all parties need to utilize similar technology through the well-known concept of discounting” does not provide an inventive concept, granting a motion to dismiss based on lack of patent-eligible subject matter...
§ 101 Patent-Eligibility Turns on a Technical Solution to a Technical Problem: Pebble Tide LLC v. Arlo Technologies
In an interesting dichotomy, patent claims directed to outputting digital content did not survive, but claims directed to social network search output did survive, respective motions to dismiss based on lack of patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test. Pebble Tide LLC v. Arlo Tech., Inc. (D. Del. Jan 31, 2020). Pebble Tide LLC sued three defendants...
Conventional Component For Accepting Credit Card Payment In Taxicab is Ineligible: Curb Mobility, LLC v. Kaptyn, Inc.
A court held that patent claims directed to “the longstanding commercial practice of paying for public transit” are abstract ideas, and “the mere assemblage of admittedly known components” does not provide an inventive concept, granting a motion to dismiss based on lack of patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and the Alice/Mayo test. Curb Mobility, LLC v. Kaptyn, Inc., et...