Practices Professionals Industries Insights Events News The Firm Offices Careers DECEMBER 1, 2021 D. Ariz.: Exchanging Geographic and Demographic Data is not Patent Eligible under Section 101 Holland & Knight Section 101 Blog Anthony J. Fuga In the case USADATA Inc. v. DataWidget LLC, No. CV-21-00526-PHX-DLR, 2021 WL 5084283 (D. Ariz. Nov. 1, 2021), the patent at issue is titled, "System and Method for Selling Customer-Specific Data Subsets on a Third-Party Website Using a Web Widget." Like the title suggests, the claims recite a "system for searching and purchasing data subsets from a data seller," which comprises three main components: 1) an e-commerce vendor, 2) a data seller and (3) a data extraction widget. The patent explains how the system works with a sandwich shop/web-to-print example: A sandwich shop owner wants to run a targeted mail campaign by designing and sending postcards to all residents within five miles of the sandwich shop. The owner finds an e-commerce vendor selling printing services, but the vendor lacks its own database of residents within five miles of the sandwich shop. However, a third-party data seller has a database that can be searched to obtain that specific data subset. Using the data seller widget, the customer [sandwich shop] accesses the data seller's database via server, obtains a list of residents within a five mile radius of the customer's shop and then uses that mailing list to send out custom postcards through the web-to-print site. Preferably, the customer pays for the data subset (in this case the names and addresses) during checkout at the web-to-print site and the data seller and web-to-print vendor can settle their accounts at the same or subsequent time. Throughout the process, the customer need not know that a third-party data seller is involved. The plaintiff filed a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that the patent is ineligible under Section 101. (The plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action, so the defendant is the patent holder.) At step one of the Alice inquiry, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona found the patent to be directed to an abstract idea: "functionally, the data extraction widget exchanges information with and between a vendor of geographic and demographic data and a printing service … As far back as the pre-Civil War era, humans have acquired geographic and demographic and used a printing service to reach a targeted audience." The court, in summary, found that the patent "essentially computerizes a longstanding economic practice … and mere information exchange is an abstract idea, even when performed by computers or otherwise technologically restricted." At step two, the court found that none of the components are inventive because they implement conventional protocols. "The patent claims a system that employs a database, servers, processors, and memory, all of which the patent describes as 'well-known in the art.'" The court concluded that such generic language does not reveal an inventive concept. Accordingly, the court found that the patent claims are ineligible under Section 101 and granted the plaintiff's motion for judgement on the pleadings. Thank you for reading. Sign up for a monthly roundup from the Holland & Knight Section 101 blog. RELATED BLOGS Retail and Commercial Development and Leasing Blog Section 101 Blog EDITOR Anthony J. Fuga RELATED PRACTICES Patent Litigation Patent Protection and Prosecution Intellectual Property Technology E-Commerce RELATED INDUSTRY Retail & Consumer Products Subscribe to Updates and Events Click to Sign Up Related Insights Section 101 Patent Eligibility at the Supreme Court: Where Are We? OCTOBER 29, 2021 2 Minutes No Mixed Signals: Delaware Court Finds Data Transmission Patent Invalid Under Section 101 AUGUST 18, 2021 3 Minutes A Bad Day for this Patent Applicant: Travel Itinerary Applications Ineligible Under Section 101 JUNE 10, 2021 4 Minutes Southern District of New York: Digital Mapping Patent Fails Under Section 101 OCTOBER 11, 2021 3 Minutes Gmail to Use Verified Trademark Logo Badges to Combat Email Scammers JULY 16, 2021 3 Minutes Federal Circuit: Requesting, Transmitting, Receiving, Copying, Deleting, and Storing Data Records Is an Abstract Idea MAY 4, 2021 3 Minutes Fed. Circ.: Retailer Finder Fee Patent Invalid Under Section 101 SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 3 Minutes It Is Time to Air your Section 101 Patent Eligibility Grievances JULY 12, 2021 2 Minutes Federal Circuit: Method of Creating a Floral Arrangement is an Abstract Idea APRIL 21, 2021 2 Minutes View More The hallmark of Holland & Knight's success has always been and continues to be legal work of the highest quality, performed by well prepared lawyers who revere their profession and are devoted to their clients. Subscribe to Publications Client Login Alumni Attorney Advertising. Copyright © 1996–2021 Holland & Knight LLP. All rights reserved. Legal Information GDPR