On Tuesday, the Federal Circuit ruled against a patent licensing entity attempting to enforce patents related to “video-on-demand” programming designed for cable companies. The court stated that the patents in question encompass abstract ideas, which are not eligible for protection under patent law. This decision marks a significant victory for Amazon.
The core contention involved whether the patents, asserting technologies used for targeted advertisements, could be considered as embodying patentable subject matter. The Federal Circuit’s judgment leaned heavily on the determination that the underlying concepts were merely abstract ideas, which the courts have consistently held are not patentable.
Additional details on the case’s intricacies and the court’s reasoning can be accessed through Law360’s comprehensive report.