Epic Technology, LLC v. Fitnow, Inc.

151 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 WL 8160884, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164425
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedDecember 7, 2015
DocketCase No. 2:15-CV-00442-DB
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 151 F. Supp. 3d 1245 (Epic Technology, LLC v. Fitnow, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Epic Technology, LLC v. Fitnow, Inc., 151 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 WL 8160884, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164425 (D. Utah 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON FITNOW’S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

Dee Benson, United States District Judge

Epic Technology, LLC (“Epic”) owns a patent — No. -8,275,633- (’633. patent)— claiming -methods and systems for providing real time health information utilizing a bar code or RF ID reader on a handheld device. Epic sued Fitnow, Inc. (“Fitnow’,’) for infringement of the ’633 patent. Fitnow filed this Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (“Fitnow’s Motion”), asserting that the ’633 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C, § 101 for claiming subject matter that is ineligible for patenting. Fitnow argues that the ’633 patent claims the “abstract idea” of keeping a nutritional log and, therefore, is ineligible under § 101. For the reasons set forth below, Fitnow’s Motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

The ’633 patent recited two independent claims — claims 1 and 9. Claim 1 from the ’633 patent recites:

1. A method for obtaining health information comprising the acts of:
using a computing device, scanning a product bar code and obtaining a product identity;
using the computing device, obtaining a health information corresponding to the product identity;
using the computing device, recording the health information and product identity; (
using the computing device, assigning the recorded health information and the recorded product identity to a particular health category;.
using the computing device, displaying a record over a particular time period including the recorded health information and product identity; and
wherein the acts are performed in the order listed above.

Claim 9 from the ’633 patent recites:

9. A handheld computing device comprising: - ; [1247]*1247a scanning device configured to obtain, a product identity from a bar code;
a correlation module that is configured to correlate the product identity ■ obtained by the scanning device with information about the product, wherein the information includes health information; wherein the correlation module is configured to assign the product identity obtained by the scanning device and the information about the product correlated by the correlation module to a particular category;
a memory module configured to store the information about the product correlated by the correlation module and the particular category assigned by the correlation module;
a display that is configured to visually display the information about the product and the particular category stored by the memory module; and
wherein the inherent steps used by the scanning device, correlation module, memory module, and display module are performed in the sequence listed above.

LEGAL STANDARD

Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a party to move to dismiss a suit “[a]fter the pleadings are closed ... but early enough not to delay trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P.. 12(c). A motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by a defendant is treated as a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Farm. Credit Bank of Wichita, 226 F.3d 1138, 1160 (10th Cir. 2000). On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court judges the. sufficiency of the complaint, accepting as true the well-pleaded factual allegations and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Shaw v. Valdez, 819 F.2d 965, 968 (10th Cir.1987). “The purpose of Rule 12(b)(6) is to allow a defendant to test whether, as a matter of law, the plaintiff is entitled to legal relief even if everything alleged in the complaint is true.” Ericksen v. Johnson, No. 2:09-CV-329 TC, 2011 WL 1226094, at *1 (D.Utah Mar. 29, 2011) (citations omitted) (internal quotations omitted). A judgment on the pleadings is properly granted when “the.moving party has clearly .established that no material issue of fact remains to be resolved and. the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Colony Ins. Co. v. Burke, 698 F.3d 1222, 1228 (10th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Issues of patent-eligible subject matter are questions of law. Research Corp. Techs., Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 627 F.3d 859, 867 (Fed.Cir.2010). Under the Patent Act, all patents are “presumed valid,” and “[e]ach claim of a patent (whether in independent, dependent, or multiple dependent form) [is] presumed valid independently of the validity of other claims.” 35 U.S.C. § 282(a). The party challenging the validity of a patent bears the burden of proving invalidity by clear and convincing evidence. Eimco Corp. v. Peterson Filters &.Eng’g Co., 406 F.2d 431, 434 (10th Cir. 1968) (citations omitted); see also 35 U.S.C. § 282(a) (“The burden of establishing invalidity of a patent or any claim thereof. . .rest[s] on the party asserting such invalidity.”).

PATENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER . 35 U.S.C. § 101

The United States Supreme Court in interpreting 35 U.S.C. § -101 recognized three categories of. patent ineligible subject matter: laws of nature, -physical phenomena, and abstract ideas. Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 130 S.Ct. 3218, 3225, 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010) (quoting Diamond v. Chakrabarty, 447 U.S. 303, 309, 100 S.Ct. 2204, 65 L.Ed.2d 144 (1980)), These categories are often referred to as judicial [1248]*1248“exceptions” to the otherwise “wide scope” of § 101 patent eligibility. Id. at 3225.

An “abstract idea” for purposes of 35 U.S.C.'§ 101' is a “mental process[]” or “abstract intellectual concept[ ].” Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., — U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1293, 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 67, 93 S.Ct. 253, 34 L.Ed.2d 273 (1972)). The Court has made clear that § 101 does not cover processes employing a computer to perform steps that people can do in them heads, or manually with pencil and paper. See, e.g., Benson, 409 U.S. at 66, 67, 93 S.Ct. 253 (invalidating patent claims to a process that “can be done mentally”); CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
151 F. Supp. 3d 1245, 2015 WL 8160884, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164425, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/epic-technology-llc-v-fitnow-inc-utd-2015.