Distefano Patent Trust III, LLC v. Linkedin Corp.

346 F. Supp. 3d 616
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedSeptember 28, 2018
DocketC.A. No. 17-1798-LPS-CJB
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 346 F. Supp. 3d 616 (Distefano Patent Trust III, LLC v. Linkedin Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Distefano Patent Trust III, LLC v. Linkedin Corp., 346 F. Supp. 3d 616 (D. Del. 2018).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

STARK, U.S. District Judge *619Plaintiff DiStefano Patent Trust III, LLC ("Plaintiff or "DiStefano") asserts that Defendant LinkedIn Corporation ("Defendant" or "LinkedIn") infringes DiStefano's U.S. Patent No. 8,768,760 (the "'760 patent"), entitled "Reciprocal Linking Arrangement between Web Pages." (D.I. 11 at 2-3) LinkedIn has filed a motion to dismiss, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), on the grounds that the '760 patent fails to claim patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. (D.I. 12) The parties submitted briefing (D.I. 13, 16, 18) and the Court heard oral argument on July 31, 2018 (see D.I. 25) ("Tr."). For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant LinkedIn's motion to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

There '760 patent relates to "developing web pages through the use of a graphical user interface." '760 Pat. at 1:25-26. Specifically, the patent describes a method of creating a reciprocal arrangement between two websites in order to market the first website at the second website. See id. at 3:12-28.

DiStefano contends LinkedIn infringes claims 1, 4, 5, 8, and 10 of the '760 patent. (D.I. 11 at 4)1 Independent claim 1 recites:

1. A method, within and by a computer hardware system that is configured to serve a first web page associated with a first user and a second web page associated with a second user, comprising:
receiving, from a first computer associated with the first user, a first indication to opt into a reciprocal linking arrangement;
receiving, from a second computer associated with the second user, a second indication to opt into the reciprocal linking arrangement;
establishing, within a database associated with the computer hardware system, the reciprocal linking arrangement based upon both the first and second users opting to participate in the reciprocal linking arrangement;
including, within the second web page and based upon the reciprocal linking arrangement, a second functional identification element associated with the first entity; and
including, within the first web page and based upon the reciprocal linking arrangement, a first functional identification element associated with the second entity, wherein *620the second functional identification element includes a link to the first web page, and
the first functional identification element includes a link to the second web page.

The remaining asserted claims all depend from claim 1. During oral argument, the parties agreed that claim 1 is representative. (See Tr. at 4 ("[C]laim 1 is representative."), 50 ("[T]his case could rise or fall on claim 1 as to the asserted claims.") )2

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss

Evaluating a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) requires the Court to accept as true all material allegations of the complaint. See Spruill v. Gillis , 372 F.3d 218, 223 (3d Cir. 2004). "The issue is not whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims." In re Burlington Coat Factory Sec. Litig. , 114 F.3d 1410, 1420 (3d Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, the Court may grant such a motion to dismiss only if, after "accepting all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true, and viewing them in the light most favorable to plaintiff, plaintiff is not entitled to relief." Maio v. Aetna, Inc. , 221 F.3d 472, 481-82 (3d Cir. 2000) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A well-pleaded complaint must contain more than mere labels and conclusions. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ; Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A plaintiff must plead facts sufficient to show that a claim has substantive plausibility. See Johnson v. City of Shelby , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 346, 347, 190 L.Ed.2d 309 (2014). A complaint may not be dismissed, however, for imperfect statements of the legal theory supporting the claim asserted. See id. at 346.

"To survive a motion to dismiss, a civil plaintiff must allege facts that 'raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).' " Victaulic Co. v. Tieman

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346 F. Supp. 3d 616, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/distefano-patent-trust-iii-llc-v-linkedin-corp-ded-2018.