In buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc. 13-1575, the Federal Circuit upheld a district court ruling that buySAFE’s patent, which included claims directed to a computer-aided method for guaranteeing a party’s performance in an on-line transaction, was invalid under Patent Act section 101. The court found that the claims were directed to the abstract idea of creating a contractual relationship and that the addition of a computer failed to add a sufficient inventive concept to be patent eligible.
This is one example of a growing trend among courts of invalidating computer implemented business method patents. The Federal Circuit based its decision in buySAFE on a conclusion that the claims were directed to a known concept performed on a conventional computer without specific programming or a particular machine. The Federal Circuit indicated it was not necessary to look further than the Supreme Court’s holding in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank in such a “straightforward” case.
source: Maier & Maier, PLLC
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