Panel Reverses and Remands Decision in N.D. Cal. on Validity of Software Patents for Structuring Dynamic Peer-to-Peer Networks for Videos and Video Games
CHICAGO — The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today issued a precedential decision favoring Raleigh, NC-based Cooperative Entertainment, Inc., announced Meredith Martin Addy, co-founder and a partner at intellectual property law firm AddyHart P.C., who argued Cooperative’s case.
In Cooperative Entertainment, Inc. v. Kollective Technology, Inc., the Federal Circuit set aside a decision of the US District Court (N.D. Calif.) to hold as invalid all claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,432,452 under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Court held that there were plausible factual allegations in the claim language of the ‘452 Patent, in the written description, and in the amended complaint that describe how the patent’s arrangement is a technical improvement over the prior art.
“This decision is refreshing, as our client’s claims involve software, but the panel agreed that the pleadings and the patent describe a technical improvement over prior art ways of arranging networks for distributing video content. The ruling should encourage those arguing patentability cases under Section 101,” noted Addy.
The Court reversed the district court’s prior ruling in favor of defendant Kollective Technology on a motion to dismiss under FRCP Rule 12, and remanded the case to the lower court for review.
“Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Alice v. CLS Bank,” added Addy, “patentees have been under siege in our courts, which have been hard-hearted in judging what is innovative with respect to prior art, and too willing to dismiss valid claims. That was the case here. The claims in this case were rightly adjudged and I am glad the Federal Circuit decided in Collective’s favor on appeal.”
Cooperative Entertainment, Inc. v. Kollective Technology, Inc. (CAFC 21-2167) was argued on appeal from the US District Court (N.D. Calif.) in No. 5:20-cv-07273-EJD. The case was heard by a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit including CJ Moore, and JJ Lourie and Stark. AddyHart P.C. partner Benjamin Cappel and Matthew Michael Wawrzyn of Wawrzyn LLC joined Meredith Addy in arguing on behalf of Collective Entertainment, Inc. Michael S. Dowler of Park, Vaughan, Fleming & Dowler LLP argued for defendant-appellee.
Meredith Martin Addy, who co-founded AddyHart P.C. in 2018 with Robert P. Hart, leads the firm’s IP litigation practice group. She has been trying cases across a range of industries for more than 25 years. Addy remains one of the most notable appellate attorneys with success at the Federal Circuit, having prevailed most recently in a case for Thales Visionix in a case against the US government in a case involving patented avionics technology for the helmet-mounted display for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Addy’s experience includes more than 80 cases in the federal district courts and more than 100 appeals to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, she has guided Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDA) pharmaceutical cases under the Hatch-Waxman Act through trial and appeal, and she also handles cases before the Court of Federal Claims and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the USPTO. Last year, Law360 identified Addy as one of five women who have argued most frequently at the Federal Circuit in the past two decades; she is one of only two of these female attorneys who is patent-barred.