Delaware Judge Grants Fox Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss Patent Infringement Case

Following the decision, the lead Pillsbury partners in the case, Ranjini Acharya and Michael Horikawa, were recognized by Law.com in its weekly Litigator of the Week column.

The case began in late 2022 when Recentive accused Fox of using “stolen” patents to develop an internal platform for the enhancement of NFL football game scheduling and broadcasting on its regional stations.

Subsequently, the Pillsbury team filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Recentive’s patents were unpatentable abstract ideas.

“Because the court has found that the claims of the patents-in-suit are directed to abstract ideas, and that there is no inventive concept, the claims are directed to patent-ineligible subject matter,” Judge Williams said. “Accordingly, Fox's motion to dismiss for failing to claim patent-eligible subject matter pursuant to 35 U.S.C. [Section] 101 is granted.”

The court also found that any further amendments by Recentive to its complaint would be futile and granted Fox’s motion to dismiss with prejudice.

Click here to read the full article. To view Law.com’s Litigator of the Week column, click here.

The Pillsbury team included Intellectual Property partners Ranjini Acharya and Michael Horikawa with additional support from partner Michael Zeliger and retired partner Evan Finkel.