Computer Virus Screening Patent Not Invalid Under Alice

The court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment that plaintiff's computer virus screening patent was invalid for lack of patentable subject matter because defendants failed to prove the patent was directed to an abstract idea. "[Plaintiff] insists, 'The human mind cannot screen for computer viruses within the telephone network or elsewhere.' The Court agrees with [plaintiff]. The [patent-in-suit] is not directed to screening generic 'data' or 'information.' Instead, the asserted claim specifically recites a computer virus, which has computer-centric implications that cannot be abstracted away so broadly. . . . Claim 7 . . . is 'Internet-centric.' In fact, the key idea of the patent is that virus detection can take place remotely between two entities in a telephone network. This is advantageous because it saves resources on the local caller and calling machines and more efficiently executes virus detection at a centralized location in the telephone network. Claims that 'purport to improve the functioning of the computer itself' or 'effect an improvement in any other technology or technical field' may be patentable under § 101."

Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corporation et al, 1-10-cv-01067 (DED April 22, 2015, Order) (Stark, J.)