BIOS Authentication Patent Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

The court granted defendants' motion for judgment on the pleadings that plaintiff's BIOS authentication patent was invalid for lack of patentable subject matter and found that the claims lacked an inventive concept. "[Plaintiff] responds that the inventive concept arises from the fact that authentication through the use of digital signatures is in the specific context of invoking BIOS services. [Plaintiff] also emphasizes the [patent-in-suit’s] use of a cryptographic key pair, as opposed to other authentication methods used in non-computer settings, as well as the patent’s role in protecting BIOS services from unauthorized service requests. . . . [T]he [patent] claims, viewed individually and as an ordered combination, simply instruct the practitioner to implement the abstract idea of authentication with routine, conventional activity on a generic computer. That mathematical algorithms are used in the authentication process, or that the process is used solely to invoke BIOS services, are of no consequence. . . . The Court rejects [plaintiff's] argument that Defendants have failed to show patent-ineligibility by clear and convincing evidence. The [patent] alone, and the obvious deficiencies therein, is the clear and convincing evidence."

Kinglite Holdings Inc. v. Micro-Star International Co. Ltd. et al, 2-14-cv-03009 (CACD October 16, 2015, Order) (Selna, J.)