Video Game Updating Patent Invalid Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

The court granted defendant's motion to dismiss because the asserted claims of plaintiff’s video game updating patent encompassed unpatentable subject matter and found that the claims were directed toward an abstract idea. "The claims recite a simple internet-based method of updating the software of sports video games. This is an abstract idea — updating software in sports video games — and it is performed on a conventional computer, server, and network. . . . [T]he Patent claims do nothing more than recite the performance of a long-established business practice — re-writing software to produce an updated version — using a general purpose computer and the internet. . . . The fact that the Patent is limited to the specific field of use of sports video games, or that it is performed over the internet, makes no difference."

White Knuckle Gaming, LLC v. Electronic Arts, Inc., 1-15-cv-00150 (UTD June 2, 2016, Order) (Parrish, J.)