Vehicle Radar Patent Not Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

The court denied defendants' motion for summary judgment that plaintiff's vehicle radar patent was invalid for lack of patentable subject matter because the asserted claims were not directed toward the abstract idea of a mathematical algorithm. "The [patent] claims do not recite a mathematical algorithm. They are only an 'algorithm' in the broadest sense of the term. The relevant claim steps are not mathematical in nature; they describe concrete steps to be performed. . . . Nor are the [patent] claims 'a procedure for solving a given type of mathematical problem.' The [patent] claims solve at least two blind-spot-system-specific practical problems arising from the use of radars. . . . It explains how to determine relevant variables and describes more than just a mathematical formula. The [patent] explains how variables are selected in detail."

Signal IP, Inc. v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc. et al, 2-14-cv-02454 (CACD March 22, 2016, Order) (Kronstadt, J.)