In a recent decision from the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Georgia, the Court granted motions to dismiss
and for judgment on the pleadings, invalidating two patents related
to software for detecting cheating in the card game bridge. The
ruling underscores the ongoing challenges for software patents
under 35 U.S.C. § 101, particularly those involving data
collection and analysis. The court applied the
two-step Alice framework to find the patents
directed to an abstract idea without an inventive concept,
highlighting the limits of patenting mathematical techniques even
in niche applications.
Background
This case centers on patents for technology designed to detect
cheating in bridge, a trick-taking card game with over 165,000
professional members in North America. Plaintiff, The EDGAR
Association (“EDGAR”), owns and developed a competing
system called EDGAR (Everyone Deserves a Game Above Reproach),
which uses data analysis to generate reports on
