Data Engine Technologies LLC v. Google LLC

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The district court entered judgment on the pleadings, finding the Tab Patents, titled “System and Methods for Improved Spreadsheet Interface With User-Familiar Objects,” patent-ineligible under 35 U.S.C. 101, as directed to abstract concepts and failing to provide an inventive concept. The patents claim systems and methods for making complex electronic spreadsheets more accessible by providing familiar, user-friendly interface objects—specifically, notebook tabs—to navigate through spreadsheets while circumventing the arduous process of searching for, memorizing, and entering complex commands. The Federal Circuit reversed in part, finding all but one claim to be patent eligible. The claims are not abstract, but rather are directed to a specific improved method for navigating through complex three-dimensional electronic spreadsheets. The asserted claims of one patent, reciting methods for tracking changes to data in spreadsheets, are directed to the abstract idea of collecting, recognizing, and storing changed information; nothing in these claims that provides an inventive concept sufficient to render the claims patent eligible. View "Data Engine Technologies LLC v. Google LLC" on Justia Law