IP Blog
Patent-Eligible
Controlling Subscription Entertainment Not Patent Eligible
Affirming a motion to dismiss, the Federal Circuit found claims from four patents, directed to “electronic means of increasing user control over subscription entertainment content,” patent-ineligible under the Mayo/Alice test and 35 U.S.C. § 101. Maxon, LLC, v. Funai Corporation, Inc., (Fed. Cir. April 9, 2018) (non-precedential). The patents-in-suit were U.S. patents 8,989,160; 7,489,671 7,489,671; 7,486,649; and 7,171,194. The court...
Providing Haptic Feedback Patent-eligible or Abstract Idea?
Claims from two out of three patents for providing haptic feedback to computer users survived a motion to dismiss based on a patent eligibility challenge under the Mayo/Alice test and 35 U.S.C. § 101. Considering their character as a whole, the court found that the claims were not directed to abstract ideas. Immersion Corp. v. Fitbit, Inc., No. 17-CV-03886-LHK, (N.D....
Controlling Video Playback Preferences Not Patent-Eligible
Claims reciting a “method of playing back a recorded signal” are “directed to the [patent-ineligible] abstract idea of choosing to playback media with or without playback preferences,” held the court in D&M Holdings, Inc. v. Sonos, Inc., No. 16-141-RGA (D. Del. Feb 16, 2018). The court thus granted summary judgment of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of U.S. Patent...