Use of "the Internet" Does Not Satisfy the "Machine" Prong of In re Bilski's "Machine or Transformation" Test

The court rejected plaintiff's argument that utilizing the "the myriad 'general and special purpose computers, routers, hubs, switches and other specialized hardware' comprising the internet" satisfied the "machine" prong of the "machine or transformation" test required by In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 30, 2008) (en banc). "This court is now presented with the question of whether recitation of 'over the Internet' suffices to tie a process claim to a particular machine. There are at least three reasons why it does not. First, the test requires that a claimed process be tied to 'a particular machine' . . . [Second,] the internet is an abstraction. . . . One can touch a computer or a network cable, but one cannot touch 'the internet' . . . Finally, the use of the internet does not impose meaningful limits on the scope of the claims."

Cybersource Corp. v. Retail Decision, Inc., 3-04-cv-03268 (CAND March 27, 2009, Opinion)