No Abstract Idea Where Invention Cannot be “Practiced in the Abstract”

Courts have decided many recent Alice challenges based on whether the invention at hand is “physical” or not. Others determine patent-eligibility based on whether a human can practice the invention in their mind, or with pen and paper. Still others challenge patent-eligibility by defining the invention and dismissing other elements as “conventional” computer components. But what if those other components are physical, non-computer elements?

 

The case of 2-Way Computing, Inc. v. Grandstream Networks, Inc., 2:16-cv-01110-RCJ-PAL (D. Nev. Oct. 18, 2016 Memorandum Order and Opinion) dealt with this very issue. In 2-Way Computing, the court heard an Alice-based §101 challenge to an invention that translates audio data packets to enable audio communication. The claims include several elements found in conventional electronics, such as a network interface, a microphone, a speaker, and an audio input and output unit. Claim 1 of the asserted patent is essentially a listing of these conventional, physical devices followed by a large paragraph setting forth steps performed by computer software to perform the intended function of translating data packets into recognizable audio.

 

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