Electronic Message Delivery Patents Not Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

The court denied plaintiff's motion for judgment on the pleadings that defendant's electronic message delivery patents encompassed unpatentable subject matter because the claims did not lack an inventive concept. "[Plaintiff] argues that the patents-in-suit simply duplicate a pre-internet business practice on the internet because the patents-in-suit allegedly acknowledge that their solution is directed at the same problem that exists with regular mail, namely proof of delivery. The patents-in-suit, however, address more than that. More importantly, the patents-in-suit aim to solve a technical problem of electronic messages, which because of their form, present unique challenges for establishing proof of receipt and delivery. The patents-in-suit thus use an intermediate server between the sender and receiver of an electronic message to address the problem of providing reliable proof of the content and delivery of electronic messages, without requiring the cooperation of the recipient and without requiring special email software. The patents-in-suit’s technical solution thus satisfies step two of the analysis under [Alice Corp. Pty. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014)]."

Sophos Incorporated v. RPost Holdings, Inc. et al, 1-13-cv-12856 (MAD June 3, 2016, Order) (Casper, J.)