The Federal Circuit affirmed that all four Arendi patents directed to identifying information in a document and searching external databases are patent-ineligible under Section 101, ending a decade-long litigation against Google and Oath (Yahoo).
In Anonymous Media Research Holdings LLC v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc., No. 2:23-cv-00439 (E.D. Tex.), Judge Rodney Gilstrap denied Samsung’s
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patents claiming automated farming data collection using generic computer components are directed to patent-ineligible abstract ideas under Alice, but vacated the district court’s unexplained denial of attorney’s fees and remanded for further proceedings.
The District of Delaware dismissed an Australian fintech company’s patent infringement suit against JPMorgan, holding that a blockchain-based financial transaction processing patent is directed to patent-ineligible abstract ideas under Section 101.
A federal court in the Southern District of California dismissed all claims from five ad-viewability and ad-refresh patents as patent-ineligible under Section 101, finding they recite abstract ideas of determining whether a webpage area is visible and sending content based on that determination.
The Supreme Court denied certiorari in Rideshare Displays’ challenge to the Federal Circuit’s invalidation of vehicle identification system patents under Section 101, where the court also declined to follow the USPTO’s own eligibility guidelines.
The Supreme Court denied certiorari in USAA v. PNC Bank, leaving intact the Federal Circuit’s ruling that mobile check deposit patents are unpatentable abstract ideas under Section 101, effectively killing $222.8 million in jury verdicts.
The Supreme Court denied certiorari in USAA’s challenge to the Federal Circuit’s invalidation of mobile check deposit patents under Alice, leaving the abstract-idea framework unchanged despite broad industry support for review.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that a patent for automatically silencing a mobile phone when it pairs with a vehicle is directed to the abstract idea of screening notifications and lacks an inventive concept under Alice.
A Delaware federal court denied Zoom’s motion to dismiss Ricoh’s seven-patent infringement suit under Alice, finding the video conferencing patents plausibly contain inventive concepts beyond abstract ideas.
A Northern District of California court dismissed six AI bot patents as ineligible under Alice but spared a seventh — a real-time translation patent — finding its claims specified how a remote server achieves multilingual group communication, rather than merely claiming the abstract idea of translation.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that a patent for monitoring vehicles using RFID detection and operator identification is directed to the abstract idea of detecting, transmitting, and processing data, and lacks any inventive concept to survive Alice scrutiny.
In a precedential opinion, the Federal Circuit drew a sharp § 101 line between functional ‘optimization’ claims that recite a result without specifying a concrete configuration and ‘constellation’ claims that recite specific non-uniform point arrangements. It vacated summary judgment of eligibility for the former and affirmed eligibility for the latter, while affirming the underlying jury verdict, willful-infringement finding, and damages award against LG.
Federal Circuit affirms that two augmented-reality patents asserted against Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite are invalid as abstract ideas under § 101.
The Federal Circuit dismissed a §101 patent eligibility appeal as moot after discovering the parties’ settlement agreement gave the defendant a $100 option to license the challenged patent — an amount so untethered from the patent’s value that it created no real case or controversy.
A Delaware federal judge granted Google summary judgment on the last remaining claim of B.E. Technology’s targeted advertising patent, finding Claim 25 of U.S. Patent No. 8,769,440 directed to the abstract idea of providing real-time targeted advertising and lacking any inventive concept under the Alice/Mayo framework.
The Federal Circuit denied FullView’s § 1292(b) petition to take an immediate appeal from district court rulings that invalidated some patent claims under § 101 and excluded FullView’s damages expert, leaving both rulings in place until final judgment.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s finding that patent claims directed to operating an information exchange are ineligible abstract ideas under Section 101, holding that generic computing instructions lack an inventive concept.
The Federal Circuit vacated a $600 million patent infringement judgment against Norton (Gen Digital), holding that Columbia University’s computer virus-detection patent claims are directed to abstract ideas under Alice Step 1, and denied en banc rehearing.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patents for sharing content using unique identifiers and location data are directed to an abstract idea and lack an inventive concept under Section 101.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that IBM’s patent claims directed to identifying advertisements based on search queries are abstract ideas ineligible under § 101—using a conventional database to match ads with search results adds no inventive concept—while partially reversing on noninfringement, remanding one claim for further proceedings.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patents covering poll-based social networking systems—connecting users via polling questions on mobile devices—are directed to the abstract idea of ‘matching based on questioning’ and fail § 101 patent eligibility.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patents claiming a method for distributing digital promotional content—loading branding images when a user’s GPS location matches a specified geographic area—are directed to the abstract idea of providing information based on meeting a condition, and contain no inventive concept that transforms the claims into patent-eligible subject matter.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patent claims directed to isolated nicotinamide riboside (NR)—a form of vitamin B3 found naturally in cow’s milk—are directed to a natural phenomenon and ineligible under § 101, because the claims effectively read on milk with only the isolation step as a difference, and that step adds no inventive concept.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that IBM’s patents covering coordinated map-based and list-based selection of geographic data were directed to the abstract idea of organizing and displaying visual information, lacking an inventive concept sufficient for patent eligibility.
The Federal Circuit reversed dismissal of a peer-to-peer video delivery network patent under § 101, holding that the complaint plausibly alleged the claims represented a specific technical improvement over prior content distribution networks.
The Federal Circuit affirmed rejection of claims covering a computer-implemented system for identifying Social Security Disability Insurance eligibility, holding the claims were directed to an abstract mental process that humans perform through observation and evaluation.
The Federal Circuit held that Stanford University’s patents on detecting organ transplant rejection via donor cell-free DNA are ineligible under § 101, finding the claims directed to a natural phenomenon measured by conventional techniques.
The Federal Circuit reversed dismissal of Cooperative Entertainment’s patent on a peer-to-peer content delivery network architecture, holding that claims directed to a specific topology of network nodes for distributing large video files can be patent-eligible when the specific network arrangement improves how content is distributed — not merely an abstract idea of sharing data.
The Federal Circuit held that a cardiac monitoring patent claim directed to filtering T-wave data to distinguish it from atrial fibrillation was an abstract idea of data filtering, lacking an inventive concept sufficient to survive § 101 scrutiny.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s patent ineligibility ruling, holding that claims directed to a specific two-channel mobile authentication method that improves cybersecurity represent a concrete technical solution eligible for patent protection.
The Federal Circuit held that four patents covering methods for coordinating multi-factor authentication across secure registries, PINs, biometrics, and universal devices are directed to abstract ideas and lack an inventive concept sufficient to confer patent eligibility.
The Federal Circuit held that patents covering data management systems that use cryptographic hash functions to generate content-based identifiers are directed to abstract mathematical concepts and ineligible under § 101.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that Yu’s patent on a digital camera using two lenses and two image sensors to produce an enhanced digital image was patent-ineligible under § 101 — holding the claims were directed to the abstract idea of ‘taking two pictures and using one to enhance the other’ even though the claims recited physical camera components.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that Stanford’s patent claims directed to a computational method for haplotype phasing — determining which genetic variants are inherited together on each chromosome — were patent ineligible as abstract mathematical calculations implemented on generic computer hardware.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that a patent claiming a computerized system for redeeming credit card loyalty points for rewards is an abstract idea ineligible for patent protection, and also held that substitute claims proposed in covered business method review are subject to § 101 scrutiny.
A divided Federal Circuit panel held that American Axle’s patent on a method for tuning a propshaft to reduce vibration was patent-ineligible as directed to the application of Hooke’s Law — drawing sharp dissents and a petition for rehearing that generated significant debate about the scope of § 101’s natural law exception for mechanical patents.
The Federal Circuit held that the PTAB may evaluate patent eligibility under § 101 when a patent owner proposes substitute claims during an inter partes review, expanding the PTAB’s authority beyond anticipation and obviousness.
The Federal Circuit upheld the patent eligibility of network traffic monitoring patents under § 101, finding they recite a concrete technical solution to the problem of tracking multi-flow network conversations, but reversed pre-suit damages because the patent owner failed to comply with the patent marking requirement.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal and held that patent claims covering a technique for reducing transmission delays in wireless communication systems were directed to a patent-eligible improvement in computer functionality rather than an abstract idea.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that the USPTO’s subject matter eligibility guidance is not binding on the courts, and that the proper legal standard for patent eligibility remains the Alice/Mayo framework as interpreted by federal court precedent.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court ruling and held that method-of-preparation claims for enriching cell-free fetal DNA from maternal blood were patent eligible under § 101, because the claims went beyond merely observing a natural phenomenon and recited concrete preparation steps.
The Federal Circuit held that patent claims directed to manufacturing driveshaft liners that “attenuate” vibrations were invalid under § 101 because they were simply an instruction to apply Hooke’s law — a natural law — without specifying how to do so, triggering a sharp dissent warning of § 101 overreach.
The Federal Circuit invalidated garage door opener patents covering a wireless sensor system for communicating door state, holding the claims were directed to the abstract idea of wirelessly communicating status information — an idea that cannot be its own inventive concept.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court and invalidated Solutran’s check-processing patent under § 101, holding that the presence of physical steps involving paper checks does not transform an abstract business method into patent-eligible subject matter.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s dismissal of patent claims as ineligible under § 101, applying Berkheimer to hold that well-pleaded factual allegations about how the claimed invention was an unconventional advance must be accepted as true at the 12(b)(6) stage — limiting early § 101 dispositive motions where patents allege specific technical improvements.
The Federal Circuit affirmed that patent claims directed to displaying profit-and-loss data on a trading screen were ineligible under § 101 because merely presenting new financial information on a generic display does not solve a technical problem.
The Federal Circuit held that patents covering network-controlled electric vehicle charging stations are directed to the abstract idea of network communication for device interaction, invalidating all four asserted patents under § 101.
The Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s ruling that Endo’s oxymorphone dosing patent was ineligible, holding that claims directed to a specific method of treating specific patients with specific dosages are not merely abstract natural laws.
The Federal Circuit upheld SRI’s network intrusion detection patents against a § 101 challenge, holding that claims requiring computers to perform surveillance and analysis that the human mind is incapable of doing are not directed to abstract ideas.