HP Fails To Construct A "Concrete" Path To Patentability Under Alice

Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment, Hewlett Packard Co. v. ServiceNow, Inc., Case No. 14-cv-00570-BLF (Judge Beth Labson Freeman)

Since the Supreme Court decided Alice, district courts have increasingly invalidated patent claims directed to the use of general computers to implement "abstract" ideas.  One strategy for patent owners to demonstrate patent-eligible subject matter ¹ and thus survive Alice scrutiny is limiting claim constructions to define the implementing computer structure in a specific, concrete and specialized way.  This is what Hewlett Packard recently attempted, but failed to do, when defendant ServiceNow, Inc. moved for summary judgment of invalidity on the claims in four asserted patents.