Rothwell Figg Client MediaNews Group Wins Dismissal of All Patent Infringement Claims in Ad Technology Patent Case
Judge Dana Sabraw of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California granted MediaNews Group’s motion to dismiss, disposing of all patent infringement claims brought by Rich Media Club LLC on the grounds that the asserted patents are invalid because they are directed to patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.
Rich Media Club filed suit against MediaNews Group alleging infringement of five patents related to ad viewability monitoring, lazy loading, and ad refresh technologies used in online advertising (U.S. Patent Nos. 9,824,074; 11,004,090; 11,468,453; 11,741,482; and 12,125,051). In its role as lead litigation counsel for MediaNews Group, Rothwell Figg moved to dismiss the Complaint at the outset of the case, arguing that all five patents were directed to abstract ideas and lacked any “inventive concept” sufficient to render them patent-eligible under the two-step framework established in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International. The Court agreed.
With respect to the three "Lazy Loading" Patents, the Court found the representative claims were directed to the abstract idea of determining whether a predefined area is visible on a display and, based on that determination, transmitting content to that area, a concept performable in the human mind using pencil and paper. The Court rejected Plaintiff's arguments that the patents were "rooted in technology" or provided a technological solution to a technological problem, finding that grounding an abstract idea in a particular technological environment does not render it patent eligible. The Court further found that the claims employed only generic, result-oriented functional language and failed to identify any specific means or method for performing the recited functions.
As to the two "Ad Refresh" Patents, the Court similarly found the claims directed to an abstract idea: determining how long an ad has been viewable and, after a predefined period, refreshing the advertisement, a concept with clear analogues entirely outside the online environment. Plaintiff's arguments regarding ordered combinations of steps, concrete implementation details, and the uniquely digital nature of the problem were each considered and rejected. The Court concluded that none of these arguments identified an inventive concept sufficient to meet the standard set by the Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International two-step framework.
As a result of this ruling, MediaNews Group won dismissal of the case brought by Rich Media Club in its entirety without undertaking any discovery.
MediaNews Group was represented in this case by Rothwell Figg attorneys Steven Lieberman, Sharon Davis, Brian Rosenbloom, Bryan Thompson and Ben Fishman.
