Patent claims directed to managing a cloud computing environment were held invalid on a motion under FRCP 12, as reciting patent-ineligible abstract subject matter in Kaavo v. Cognizant Tech. Solutions Corp., No. 14-1192-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Feb. 5, 2016). U.S. Patent No. 8,271,974 (“the ‘974 patent”), discloses an N-tier cloud computing environment. Each tier has a […]
Author Archive | Daniel Schaffer
Claims Directed to Conducting Transactions Via Interactive TV Held Patent-Ineligible
Patent claims directed to securing various aspects of digital content on a user’s television were held patent-ineligible in OpenTV, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., No. 5:15-cv-02008-EJD (N.D. Cal., Jan. 28, 2016). Ruling on Apple’s motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the court used the familiar Alice / Mayo two-step framework to invalidate claims […]
Denial of Dispositive Motions Undermined Argument for Exceptional Case
A recent case in which a court refused to find a case exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285, and denied a defendant’s motion for fees, demonstrates how Octane Fitness has not greatly shifted the ground in many patent cases. In Ushijima v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., No. A-12-CV-318-LY (W.D. Tex. Jul. 30, 2015), the denial […]
Federal Circuit Affirms Patent-ineligibility of Online Retailing Pricing Claims
In OIP Techs., Inc. v. Amazon.com, No. 12-CV-1233 (Fed. Cir. June 11, 2015), the Federal Circuit agreed with a lower court that U.S. Patent No. 7,970,713 failed to claim patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, but rather “merely [used] a general-purpose computer to implement the abstract idea of ‘price optimization’.” The ‘713 patent […]
Patent Claims Directed to Filtering Internet Content Not Patent-Eligible
Patent claims directed to “filtering Internet content” were held invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in Bascom Global Internet Servs., Inc. v. AT&T Mobility LLC, No. 3:14-cv-3942-M (N.D. Tex May 15, 2015). The court held that, under Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l., 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014), the claims were directed to […]
Reasonable Non-Infringement Positions Relying on Court’s Claim Construction Negates Willful Patent Infringement Argument
Because Fairchild Semiconductor (a counterclaim defendant) had advanced credible non-infringement positions, the court denied a summary judgment motion seeking a finding of willful infringement in Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. v. Power Integrations, Inc., No. 12-540-LPS (D. Del. April 23, 2015). The court here followed the two part test established in In re Seagate Technology, LLC, to […]
Single Patent Yields Two Results (for now) on the Question of Patent-Eligibility
A court held one independent claim of U.S. Patent No. 8,332,475 patent-eligible, and another not, in Triplay, Inc. v. Whatsapp Inc., No. 13-1703-LPS (D. Del. April 28, 2015). Alleging that claimed subject matter encompassed an abstract idea, and thus that patent claims were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101, the Defendant had moved for dismissal […]