Microsoft Corporation v. Geotag, Inc.

817 F.3d 1305, 118 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1405, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 5966, 2016 WL 1274394
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedApril 1, 2016
Docket2015-1140
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 817 F.3d 1305 (Microsoft Corporation v. Geotag, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Microsoft Corporation v. Geotag, Inc., 817 F.3d 1305, 118 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1405, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 5966, 2016 WL 1274394 (Fed. Cir. 2016).

Opinion

WALLACH, Circuit Judge.

Appellant GeoTag, Inc. (“GeoTag”) appeals the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (“District Court”) finding that it had subject matter jurisdiction over (1) Appellee Google Inc.’s (“Google”) First Amended Complaint,, which, sought a declaratory judgment that U.S. Patent No. 5,930,474 (“the '474 patent”) (J.A 89-133) is invalid and not infringed by Google; and (2) Geo-Tag’s counterclaims, which alleged that Google infringed the 474 patent. See Microsoft Corp. v. GeoTag, Inc., No. 11-175-RGA, 2014 WL 4312167 (D.Del. Aug. 29, 2014). GeoTag also challenges the District Court’s decision granting summary judgment that Google did not infringe the 474 patent. See Microsoft Corp. v. GeoTag, Inc., No. 11-175-RGA, 2014 WL 7328279 (D.Del. Apr. 10, 2014) (J.A 45-63). We affirm the District Court, although' we find jurisdiction on different grounds.

BACKGROUND

I. The '474 Patent ■

The '474. patent claims systems and methods of searching online information within a geographically and topically orga *1308 nized database. '474 patent, Abstract. The specification describes a preferred embodiment that organizes websites and files within a directory-like structure of folders categorized by geography and topic; Id. col. 19 11. 52-57; see also id. fig. 10. In that embodiment, an Internet user may navigate to a folder labeled for a particular geographic area and then conduct a topical search within that area, such as for “information about specific goods and services in the geographic location.” Id., Abstract. Independent claim 1 is illustrative and describes

A system which associates on-line information with geographic areas, said system comprising:
a computer network wherein a plurality of computers have access to said network; and
an organizer executing in said computer network, wherein said organizer is configured to receive search requests from any one of said plurality of computers, said organizer comprising:
a database of information organized into a hierarchy of geographical areas wherein entries corresponding to each one of said hierarchy of geographical areas is further organized into topics; and
a search engine in communication with said database, said search engine configured to search geographically and topically, said search engine further configured to [s]elect one of said hierarchy of geographical areas prior to selection of a topic so as to provide a geographical search area wherein within said hierarchy of geographical areas at least one of said entries associated with a [broader] geographical area is dynamically replicated into at least o[n]e narrower geographical area, said search engine further configured to search said topics within said selected geographical search area.

Id. col. 38 11. 36-58 (emphasis added to reflect disputed claim language). 1 Importantly, the “dynamically replicated” limitation occurs after the system conducts a search within a limited geographic area. Id. col. 38 11. 47-58. Through that limitation, the system includes search results associated with the narrow geographic area and then automatically adds results associated with a broader geographic area. Id. col. 38 11. 55-58.

II. Procedural History

This appeal is an outgrowth of litigation that began in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in December 2010. In the Texas actions, “GeoTag sued more than 300 entities in ten separate complaints ... based on store locator services used by the entities but, for some of the defendants, provided by Microsoft [Corporation (“Microsoft”) ] and Google.” 2 GeoTag, 2014 WL 4312167, at *1 (citation omitted). GeoTag alleged in those actions that Google’s customers infringed the '474 patent. See, e.g., J.A. 5000.

“In response to GeoTag’s suits [in Texas against Google’s customers], Google ... filed a declaratory judgment action against *1309 GeoTag” in the District Court. GeoTag, 2014 WL 4312167, at *1 (citation omitted). The Complaint sought a declaratory judgment that the '474 patent “is invalid and is not infringed by the use of [Google’s] web mapping services.” J.A. 5192.

GeoTag answered Google’s Complaint and counterclaimed that Google Ad-Words — an online ^platform for displaying advertisements to users that conduct a search on Google’s website — directly infringes the '474 patent. GeoTag, 2014 WL 4312167, at *1 (citation omitted); J.A. 5577-87 (GeoTag’s Answer and Counterclaims). In relevant part, AdWords runs a search against its “entire database” of ads, “yield[ing] all possible results” that are then “progressively filtered[ ] using factors such as geography.” J.A. 61; see J.A. 59-60 (providing a technical description of the AdWords system).

Google 'moved for summary judgment that it did not infringe independent claims I, ¿0, and 31 (“the asserted independent claims”) and dependent claims 3, 5, 9-15, 18-19, 24-25, 32, and 36-38 of the' '474 patent, which the District Court granted. J.A. 57, 63. 3 The District Court held that AdWords does not practice the “dynamically replicated” limitation in claim 1 of the '474 patent because it does not search a narrow geographic area and automatically add results from a broader area; instead, it was “uncontested” that AdWords conducts a broad search for “all responsive ads” and then “consecutively filters” the results. 4 J.A. 60-61; see J.A. 61 (“Therefore, Google’s accused system does not trace up linkages in a hierarchy, or repeat the search in order to obtain results from a broader geographic area, as the claim limitation would require, and thus cannot meet the ‘dynamic replication’ requirement of the '474 [p]atent.”)

Shortly before the District Court issued its summary judgment decision, this court addressed declaratory judgment relief in Microsoft Corp. v. DataTern, Inc., 755 F.3d 899 (Fed.Cir.2014), The District Court obtained additional briefing on Da-taTem from Google and GeoTag. J.A. 180-81 (oral order requesting additional briefing), 7103-06 (Google), 7791-93 (Geo-Tag). It subsequently permitted Google to file its First Amended Complaint. J.A. 7634-35 (Order), 7636^8 (First Amended Complaint).

GeoTag in turn filed a Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint, asserting that the District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action.. J.A. 7698-99. Specifically, GeoTag asserted that “[t]he minimal additional allegations” in the First Amended Complaint did not establish a substantial controversy between GeoTag and Google “of sufficient immediacy and reality to warrant the issuance of a declaratory judgment.” GeoTag,

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817 F.3d 1305, 118 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1405, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 5966, 2016 WL 1274394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/microsoft-corporation-v-geotag-inc-cafc-2016.