DocketNumber: Case No. 18-cv-03115-JST
Citation Numbers: 340 F. Supp. 3d 922
Judges: Tigar
Filed Date: 10/31/2018
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/25/2022
Two motions are now before the Court: (1) Plaintiff Thunder Power New Energy Vehicle Development Company Limited ("Thunder Power")'s motion for a preliminary injunction prohibiting Defendants Byton North America Corporation ("Byton N.A." or "Byton") and Nanjing Byton New Energy Vehicle Technology Development Co., Ltd. ("Nanjing Byton") from making, using, offering to sell, or selling within the United States, or importing into the United States, vehicles employing the accused functionality, ECF No. 47 at 2; and (2) Defendant Byton's motion to dismiss Thunder Power's patent infringement claims for U.S. Patent Nos. 9,547,373 ("the '373 patent") ; 9,563,329 ("the '329 patent") ; and 9,561,724 ("the '724 patent"), as directed toward patent-ineligible subject matter. ECF No. 37. The Court will grant the motion to dismiss and deny the preliminary injunction motion as moot.
I. BACKGROUND
Both Thunder Power and Byton are foreign companies focused on developing and manufacturing electric vehicles; Thunder Power is based in Hong Kong, and Byton N.A. designs and develops electric vehicles under the direction of Defendant Nanjing Byton New Energy Vehicle Technology Development Co., Ltd., which is based in mainland China. ECF No. 35 ("first amended complaint" or "FAC") ¶¶ 4, 7, 8; ECF No. 20-1 ¶ 3. Thunder Power alleges that several concept cars imported and advertised by Byton N.A. include operating and display systems that infringe its patents: specifically, Byton's "Gesture *925Control" system ( '373 patent) and "Shared Experience Display" system ( '329 patent and '724 patent ). Id. ¶¶ 7-9, 39, 44, 49.
Generally, the '373 patent claims a vehicle operating system that captures and processes gesture signals from both a driver and a passenger, prioritizing signals from the driver where the two conflict. FAC ¶ 20. The '724 patent claims an in-vehicle display system that shows two information panels on an LCD screen, switches the position of the panels in response to a user signal, then switches them back after a set period of time ("switch-back feature"). Id. ¶ 31. The '329 patent claims a similar display system, without specifying an LCD screen, which duplicates the first information panel at a third position on the dashboard in response to a user instruction ("screen-duplication feature"). Id. ¶ 32.
Byton N.A. now moves to dismiss all three of the patents at issue as abstract and therefore ineligible. ECF No. 37. Thunder Power opposes the motion. ECF No. 44.
II. LEGAL STANDARD
"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,
Under section 101 of the Patent Act, "abstract ideas are not patentable." Alice Corp. Pty. v. CLS Bank Int'l ,
At step one, courts determine whether the claims at issue are "directed to an abstract idea."
*926Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp. ,
If the court concludes that the claims are directed to an abstract idea, the court must proceed to step two and "consider the elements of each claim both individually and as an ordered combination" to determine "whether it contains an inventive concept sufficient to transform the claimed abstract idea into a patent-eligible application." Alice ,
Although the Federal Circuit has stated some patent eligibility challenges must await claim construction, Aatrix Software, Inc. v. Green Shades Software, Inc. ,
III. DISCUSSION
Citing Aatrix and Berkheimer , Thunder Power argues that there is a factual dispute around inventiveness as to all three patents-in-suit, such that validity cannot be resolved on a motion to dismiss. ECF No. 44 at 8, 12. However, "not every § 101 determination contains genuine disputes over the underlying facts material to the § 101 inquiry." Berkheimer ,
A. The '373 Patent
The '373 patent is titled "Vehicle Operating System Using Motion Capture." ECF No. 35-1 at 2. The patent describes a vehicle operating system that captures and processes gesture signals from a driver and a passenger, determines whether the signals are consistent, and executes only the signal from the driver where they are inconsistent. FAC ¶ 20. According to Thunder Power, the patent improves the automotive arts by addressing a problem unique to that sector: "driver and passenger safety associated with inattentive or distracted driving."
*927Thunder Power asserts "at least Claim 1" of the patent, which the Court will treat as representative.
Claim 1 recites:
A vehicle operating system for operating a vehicle including a driving seat for a vehicle driver and at least one passenger seat for passengers, the vehicle operating system comprising:
camera devices for capturing at least one of images of gestures of the driver and images of gestures of a passenger;
a storage device for storing operating signals corresponding to gesture actions;
a processing device configured to:
control the camera devices to capture gesture action images of the driver and passenger simultaneously or substantially simultaneously,
convert the captured gesture action images into corresponding operating signals according to the operating signals corresponding to the gesture actions stored in the storage device,
determine a first operational signal is from a gesture action image for the driver and determine a second operational signal is from a gesture action image for the passenger, the first and second operational signals both for operating a same component of the vehicle,
determine whether the first operation signal is consistent with the second operation signal,
select the first operational signal as the operating signal and discard the second operational signal by virtue of the first operational signal being from the driver in response to the determination that first operation signal is not consistent with the second operation signal, and send out the operating signals; and
execution devices configured to receive the operating signals sent by the processing device, and to execute operations corresponding to the operating signals.
ECF No. 35-1 at 14. A representative figure in the patent visually depicts this claim:
*928ECF No. 35-1 at 5.
Byton N.A. argues the '373 patent is ineligible because there is nothing non-abstract or inventive about "the ability to receive signals from two people, determine if they are inconsistent, and if so, perform an operation based on the signal from one of the people." ECF No. 48 at 13. Byton offers the analogy of a football quarterback who observes hand signals from his head coach and offensive coordinator, executing only the head coach's command where the two conflict. ECF No. 37 at 15 n.14. As Byton points out, a claim that could be performed be a human, excising generic computer-implemented steps, is often abstract. Id. at 13; see also Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp. ,
Affinity Labs of Texas, LLC v. Amazon.com Inc. offers an apt comparison, as that case dealt with a patent for a computer-assisted system much like that claimed by Thunder Power in the '373 patent.
"At that level of generality, the claims do no more than describe a desired function or outcome, without providing any limiting detail that confines the claim to a particular solution to an identified problem. The purely functional nature of the claim confirms that it is directed to an abstract idea, not to a concrete embodiment of that idea." Affinity Labs , 838 F.3d at 1269. Indeed, the Federal Circuit has frequently "treated collecting information, including when limited to particular content[;] analyzing information by steps people go through in their minds[; and then] merely presenting the results [as] abstract." Elec. Power Grp., LLC v. Alstom S.A. ,
Thunder Power's arguments to the contrary are unconvincing. Thunder Power asserts that each claim of the '373 patent is directed to a patent-eligible concept because each claim is "directed to a specific improvement in vehicle functionality." ECF No. 44 at 13. Thunder Power alleges that the specification outlines the improvements the claims are directed to: First, elements for capturing gesture images and converting those into corresponding operational signals improve vehicle functionality because "avoiding direct button touch or screen selection" makes the operation "more convenient, less intensely focused, and overall safety improved." Id. at 13 (quoting ECF No. 35-1 at 10). Second, the claimed identification and conditional hierarchy of gesture actions - identifying signals as originating from either the driver or passenger and treating them accordingly - improves vehicle functionality by "allowing the driver or passenger to utilize [vehicle] function[s] in a less distracting way than conventional methods." Id. at 14 (quoting ECF No. 35-1 at 14). Thunder Power points to no other specific improvements to argue that the claims are not abstract.
As Byton correctly points out in reply, ECF No. 48 at 6, "merely limiting the field of use of the abstract idea to a particular existing technological environment does not render the claims any less abstract." Twilio, Inc. v. Telesign Corp. ,
Having determined that Claim 1 of the '373 patent is directed to an abstract idea, the court now considers whether the claimed improvement on the prior art nevertheless "contains an inventive concept sufficient to transform the claimed abstract idea into a patent-eligible application" under step two. Alice ,
Again, Byton has the better of the argument. A claim that simply takes an abstract idea and adds "the requirement to perform it on the Internet, or to perform it on a set of generic computer components ... would not contain an inventive concept." Bascom ,
Because the Court concludes that the '373 patent is directed toward patent-ineligible subject matter, the Court hereby GRANTS Byton's motion to dismiss Count 1 of the FAC.
B. The '724 Patent
The '724 patent is titled "Interchangeable Display of Information Panels on a Dashboard." ECF No. 35-3 at 2. The patent describes a display system in a "transportation apparatus" that displays two different information panels at different positions on a physical LCD screen, switches the positions of the panels in response to a physical user signal, and restores the original display positions after a predetermined time period. FAC ¶ 31. According to Thunder Power, this patent "also increases operational safety in motor vehicles."
Claim 1 recites:
An information display system in a transportation apparatus, the information display system comprises:
a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen that occupies at least a portion of a dashboard of the transportation apparatus, wherein the LCD screen is capable of graphically displaying multiple information panels at respective positions on the LCD screen, the information panels being displayed separate and independent from each other on the LCD screen, wherein the information panels include a first information panel and a second information panel; and
a processor configured to:
display the first information panel at a first position on the LCD screen and display the second information panel at a second position on the LCD screen;
receive a user signal indicating a request to switch the display positions of the first and second information panels on the LCD screen;
generate a switch instruction to switch the display of first and second information panels in accordance with the received user signal;
display the first information panel at the second position on the LCD screen and display the second information panel at the first position on the LCD screen in accordance with the generated switch instruction;
generate a switch-back instruction to switch back the display positions of the first information panel and second information panel to their previous display positions prior to the switching after a predetermined time period.
ECF No. 35-3 at 17. A representative patent figure visually depicts the claim:
*932ECF No. 35-3 at 12.
Byton argues that the patent is ineligible because it claims merely the abstract idea of moving information panels around on a screen based on user commands. ECF No. 37 at 14, 18. In support, Byton relies heavily on Interval Licensing , where the court held that the representative claim, setting forth an "attention manager" to display information on an unused portion of a display screen, was ineligible for patent protection.
In opposition, Thunder Power argues that the specification makes clear that "the claims represent specific operational and safety improvements to vehicle technology." ECF No. 44 at 16. Specifically, "the claimed elements function together to allow users in a vehicle to share information via independent panels." Id. at 23. The Court finds these assertions unconvincing. As Byton argues, Interval Licensing is instructive here. The Federal Circuit found the claims in that case related to two abstract functions, like those presented by the '724 patent : "(i) enabling the acquisition of content to be displayed; and (ii) enabling control over when to display the acquired content, for how long, and then displaying it."
C. The '329 Patent
The '329 patent is also entitled "Interchangeable Display of Information Panels on a Dashboard." ECF No. 35-2 at 2. Claim 1 of the '329 patent is similar to Claim 1 of the '724 patent but does not specify an LCD screen. FAC ¶ 32. Instead of a switch-back feature, the processor claimed in the '329 patent receives a user signal requesting duplication of the display of the first information panel at a third *933display position on the dashboard screen.
Claim 1 asserts:
An information display system in a transportation apparatus, the information display system comprises:
a dashboard screen that occupies at least a portion of a dashboard of the transportation apparatus, wherein the dashboard screen is capable of graphically displaying multiple information panels at respective positions on the dashboard screen, the information panels being displayed separate and independent from each other on the dashboard screen, wherein the information panels include a first information panel and a second information panel; and
a processor configured to:
display the first information panel at a first position on the dashboard screen and display the second information panel at a second position on the LCD screen;
receive a user signal indicating a request to switch the display positions of the first and second information panels on the dashboard screen;
generate a switch instruction to switch the display of first and second information panels in accordance with the received user signal;
display the first information panel at the second position on the dashboard screen and display the second information panel at the first position on the dashboard screen in accordance with the generated switch instruction;
receive a user signal indicating a request to duplicate the display of the first information panel at a third display position on the dashboard screen; and
display the first information panel at third display position on the dashboard screen in response to the user signal being received.
ECF No. 35-2 at 17. A representative figure from the patent visually depicts the claim:
ECF No. 35-2 at 12.
The parties address the '329 and '724 patents as a paired set. See, e.g. , ECF Nos. 37 at 8-9, 14, 18; 44 at 10-11, 14, 16, 18. The Court agrees with this approach and concludes that the '329 patent is substantially similar to the ineligible '724 patent. If anything, the '329 patent is even more abstract and less inventive, as it involves literally no more than moving a display *934from one location on a dashboard screen to another in response to a user instruction. Accordingly, Claim 1 of the '329 patent is ineligible for patent protection, for the same reasons outlined as to the '724 patent. The Court GRANTS Byton's motion to dismiss Count 2 of the FAC.
CONCLUSION
Byton N.A.'s motion to dismiss is GRANTED. Although the Court doubts whether the deficiencies in Thunder Power's complaint can be cured, see Papst Licensing GmbH ,
Thunder Power's preliminary injunction motion is denied as moot.
The Court sets a further case management conference on January 9, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. An updated joint case management statement is due by January 2, 2019.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
As to each of the three patents-in-suit, Thunder Power's FAC asserts only that Byton has infringed "at least Claim 1." FAC ¶¶ 39, 44, 49. However, in its opposition to the motion to dismiss, Thunder Power alleges that "a number of dependent claims make material additions to the inventive concept found in each of the challenged independent claims." ECF No. 44 at 24. A district court may determine that addressing each claim of an asserted patent is unnecessary, if a claim is representative of the others because all the claims are "substantially similar and linked to the same abstract idea." Content Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat. Ass'n ,