Casino Gaming Advice Patent Ineligible Under 35 U.S.C. § 101

The court granted defendant's motion to dismiss because the asserted claims of plaintiffs’ casino gaming advice patent encompassed unpatentable subject matter and found that the claims were directed toward an abstract idea. "[T]he concept of observing game events to determine the most favorable strategies for a player’s next move is a fundamental practice long prevalent in gaming, and is understood -- at least at a basic level -- even by gaming novices. Plaintiffs argue that 'the Internet-based nature of the technology at issue' (i.e., the fact that isolated users play against each other in remote locations) is sufficient to make the game advisor patent-eligible. However, '[a]n abstract idea does not become nonabstract by limiting the invention to a particular field of use or technological environment, such as the Internet.'”

CG Technology Development, LLC et al v. Zynga, Inc., 2-16-cv-00859 (NVD October 13, 2016, Order) (Jones, USDJ)