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

The court granted defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings that plaintiff's BIOS multitasking patent was invalid for lack of patentable subject matter and found that the asserted claims were directed toward an abstract idea. "[T]he central idea of [the claims] are . . . abstract. Claim 1 discusses the basic process of doing two things nearly simultaneously. This is something all people do, but chefs would be particularly aware of the basic concept. . . . [T]he invention of the [patent] is not directed towards an improvement of the BIOS itself. Rather, the invention simply purports to improve the experience of the user of the computer because the user is able to access aspects of the system faster than it would without the multitasking improvement and make 'efficient use of the BIOS boot-up time.' The BIOS itself functions in the same way with or without the improvement. This focus on making efficient use of time is the abstract concept of multitasking, and in the [patent] the BIOS is merely a conduit for multitasking."

Kinglite Holdings Inc. v. Micro-Star International Co. Ltd. et al, 2-14-cv-03009 (CACD May 26, 2016, Order) (Selna, J.)