Narrowly Drawn Software-Based Patent Claims Directed To Specific, Unconventional Technological Solutions Are Patent-Eligible Under Alice

The Federal Circuit, for only the third time since the Supreme Court provided the two-step Alice¹ framework in 2014, found software-based patent claims eligible under step two of the analysis. Perhaps the initial stages of a patent-eligible trend for narrowly drawn software-based patent claims, that are directed to specific, unconventional technological solutions, are underway.

On November 1, 2016, the Federal Circuit held that the claims-at-issue in four software-based patents, assigned to Amdocs (Israel) Limited, are directed to patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Amdocs (Isr.) Ltd. v. Openet Telecom, Inc., No. 2015-1180, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 19593 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 1, 2016). The court, relying on a detailed examination of a series of relevant prior opinions, reversed the Eastern District of Virginia court's ruling on a motion for judgment on the pleadings and remanded the case for further proceedings.