OpenTV, Inc. v. Netflix Inc.

76 F. Supp. 3d 886, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174432, 2014 WL 7185921
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 16, 2014
DocketCase No. 14-cv-01525-RS
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 76 F. Supp. 3d 886 (OpenTV, Inc. v. Netflix Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
OpenTV, Inc. v. Netflix Inc., 76 F. Supp. 3d 886, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174432, 2014 WL 7185921 (N.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF INVALIDITY UNDER § 101

RICHARD SEEBORG, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

In this patent infringement action, defendant Netflix, Inc. seeks summary judgment that three of the patents-in-suit are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 for failure to claim patent-eligible subject matter. Net-flix contends U.S. Patents 7,055,169, 7,305,-691, and 8,332,268 disclose only “abstract ideas” outside the permissible scope of patent protection. For the reasons explained below, the motion will be denied as to the '169 patent, and granted as to the '691 and '268 patents.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff in this action is OpenTV, Inc., which describes itself as in the business of developing software that “provides its customers with high quality technology, services, and end-to-end solutions enabling intuitive and personalized viewing experiences for consumers.” OpenTV alleges its software products “enable a variety of advanced and interactive services for television, including advanced user interfaces, video-on-demand (“VOD”), personal video recording (“PVR”), high-definition (“HD”), interactive and addressable advertising, and a variety of enhanced television applications.” The original complaint herein alleged that Netflix infringes seven patents held by OpenTV. Subsequently, OpenTV and an affiliated entity, Nagra France SAS, jointly filed a separate infringement action against Netflix, involving several additional patents. The two actions have been related, and consolidated for all purposes, so the balance of this order will refer to “plaintiffs” in the plural. The present motion for summary judgment involves only three of the patents-in-suit, and has been filed prior to any claim construction proceedings.1

[888]*888III. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment is proper “if the pleadings and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The purpose of summary judgment “is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses.” Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party “always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). If it meets this burden, the moving party is then entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the non-moving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of the case with respect to which it bears the burden of proof at trial. Id. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

The non-moving party “must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e). The non-moving party cannot defeat the moving party’s properly supported motion for summary judgment simply by alleging some factual dispute between the parties. To preclude the entry of summary judgment, the non-moving party must bring forth material facts, i.e., “facts that might affect the- outcome of the suit under the governing law.... Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The opposing party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 588, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

The court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party, including questions of credibility and of the weight to be accorded particular evidence. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, Inc., 501 U.S. 496, 111 S.Ct. 2419, 115 L.Ed.2d 447 (1991) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505); Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 588, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (1986). It is the court’s responsibility “to determine whether the ‘specific facts’ set forth by the non-moving party, coupled with undisputed background or contextual facts, are such that a rational or reasonable jury might return a verdict in its favor based on that evidence.” T.W. Elec. Service v. Pacific Elec. Contractors, 809 F.2d 626, 631 (9th Cir.1987). “[Sjummary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is ‘genuine,’ that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. However, “[wjhere the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no ‘genuine issue for trial.’ ” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.

Here, the focus of the parties’ arguments is not, for the most part, on factual issues. Rather, the question primarily is [889]*889whether Netflix is entitled to a judgment of invalidity as a matter of law, given the nature of the patent claims. As the discussion below explains, however, in the case of one of the patents, that may depend on how the claims are ultimately construed.

IV. DISCUSSION

Section 101 of the Patent Act defines the subject matter eligible for patent protection. It provides: “Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.” 35 U.S.C. § 101. Netflix contends the '169, '691, and '268 patents fail to qualify under this section.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l,—U.S.-, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014), provides the relevant analytical framework for this motion.2 As explained in Alice, the Court has “interpreted § 101 and its predecessors ... for more than 150 years” to “ ‘contain! ] an important implicit exception: Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable.’ ” Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2354, quoting Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.,—U.S.-, 133 S.Ct. 2107, 2116, 186 L.Ed.2d 124 (2013) (further internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).

The Alice court then applied a two-step framework for determining patent eligibility, previously articulated in Mayo Collaborative Servs.

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Bluebook (online)
76 F. Supp. 3d 886, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 174432, 2014 WL 7185921, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/opentv-inc-v-netflix-inc-cand-2014.