Finjan v. Blue Coat Systems: Attaching Security Profile To A Downloadable Is Patent Eligible

In Finjan v. Blue Coat Systems, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rendered a decision containing interesting rulings on patentable subject matter (affirming the District Court determination that certain claims were patent eligible) and reasonable royalty damages (vacating part of a jury verdict for failure to adequately apportion the royalty base). This article examines the patent-eligibility ruling, which is interesting in itself and also because the opinion was authored by Judge Dyk and joined by Judge Hughes, both of whom have a pronounced history of finding claims ineligible.

Claimed Invention

Claims 1, 7, 11, 14 and 41 of U.S. Patent No. 6,154,844 (the '844 patent) recite a system and method for providing computer security by attaching a security profile to a downloadable.¹ Claim 1 of the '844 patent, which the District Court found representative for § 101 purposes, reads: