Strength of Positions on Issues Unrelated to Dispositive Ruling Should Not Be Considered in Determining Attorney Fees Award

Following dismissal for lack of patentable subject matter, the court denied defendants' motions for attorney fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285 because plaintiff's litigation positions were not baseless. "⁠[T]he Court agrees with [plaintiff] that the Court need not and should not consider issues of infringement, prior art or claim construction in deciding the instant motions, as the Court did not consider these issues in disposing of the case. Nor did [plaintiff's] inclusion of eligibility-related defenses in its complaint amount to an admission that its litigation position was weak, as claimed by Defendants. . . . [T]hough this Court eventually found that the claims of [plaintiff's] asserted patents were not directed to specific improvements in the functioning of a computer, the claims nonetheless recited computer components and were not found to be objectively baseless."

Uniloc USA, Inc. et al v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al, 2-16-cv-00570 (TXED December 21, 2017, Order) (Schroeder, USDJ)