Core Wireless Licensing v. LG Electronics: User Interfaces & Patent-Eligible Subject Matter

Core Wireless Licensing v. LG
Electronics: User Interfaces &
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter
Presented by Kirk Coombs, February 2, 2018
© 2017 Workman Nydegger

Background
• Priority back to “dumb phone” days (PCT filed
07/27/2001)
• Two US Patents, Issued 04/30/2013 &
04/29/2014
• LG Electronics appealed DC’s decision (ED,TX),
which denied LG’s motion for SJ that claims are
ineligible under §101, and denying LG’s motion
for JMOL that the claims are anticipated and not
infringed
• Federal Circuit Decision, 01/25/2018 (affirming
all counts)

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Problem
• “One of the problems facing the designers of computing
devices with small screens is how to allow the user to
navigate quickly and efficiently to access data and
activate a desired function. Computing devices with
small screens tend to need data and functionality
divided into many layers or views: for example, the
small display size of mobile telephones has
conventionally meant that several hierarchies of
functions have to be offered to a user.”

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Problem
• “…a user interface typically has to demonstrate or
make explicit the changing internal status of the mobile
telephone as navigation proceeds. For example, to
select or initiate a function (e.g. to open an address
book function, enter a PIN security number or to alter
the ring melody) a user has to understand (a) how to
navigate to that function in order to select that function
and (b) that the status of the telephone is such that the
function can be selected or initiated.”
• “The technical problem of effectively enabling the user
to understand this changing internal state has to date
been inadequately addressed.”

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Solution
• “The presently disclosed embodiments offer, in one
implementation, a snap-shot view which brings together, in one
summary window, a limited list of common functions and
commonly accessed stored data which itself can he reached
directly from the main menu listing some or all applications.”
• “For example, a user can get to the summary window in just two
steps--first, launch a main view which shows various
applications; then, launch the appropriate summary window for
the application of interest. This is far faster and easier than
conventional navigation approaches. Once the summary window
is launched, core data/functionality is displayed and can be
accessed in more detail and can typically be reached simply by
selecting that data/functionality. Hence, only three steps may
be needed from start up to reaching the required data/
functionality; navigating from between each step is clear and
straightforward.”

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Example
“As an example, the main view may be an Application
Launcher for several applications such as `Messages`,
`Contacts`, `Calendar` and `Phone`. The Application
Launcher view is then presented as a standard scrolling list
of application names with appropriate application icons
next to them. The list is vertical and only one application is
presented per line. Standard highlight functions apply…”

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Example
• “The innovative summary window functionality can be accessed as
follows: should the highlight rest on the name of an application in
the App Launcher for a certain amount of time (say a 1.2 second
timeout), the summary window (the "App Snapshot") drops down
from the highlight bar. The App Snapshot for any given application is
a window which includes commonly requested data associated with
that application and links to common functionality in that
application.”
• “When an item in the App Snapshot is selected (e.g. by being
highlighted and then selected using a conventional selection
technique such as pressing a right cursor), the device displays the
relevant data in the application details view, or displays the relevant
screen offering the relevant functionality. The required application
may be automatically opened when the item in the App Snapshot is
selected. The App Snapshot can therefore display data from an
application and functions of that application without actually
opening the application up…”

The Patents (US 8,434,020 & US 8,713,476)
Example

The Patents: US 8,434,020
Claim 1:
A computing device comprising a display screen, the
computing device being configured to display on the
screen a main menu listing at least a first application, and
additionally being configured to display on the screen an
application summary window that can be reached directly
from the main menu, wherein the application summary
window displays a limited list of at least one function
offered within the first application, each function in the list
being selectable to launch the first application and initiate
the selected function, and wherein the application
summary window is displayed while the application is in
an un-launched state.

The Patents: US 8,713,476 (Continuation)
Claim 1:
A computing device comprising a display screen, the
computing device being configured to display on the
screen a menu listing one or more applications, and
additionally being configured to display on the screen an
application summary that can be reached directly from
the menu, wherein the application summary displays a
limited list of data offered within the one or more
applications, each of the data in the list being selectable
to launch the respective application and enable the
selected data to be seen within the respective application,
and wherein the application summary is displayed while
the one or more applications are in an un-launched state.

Alice/Mayo Analysis: Quick Review

District Court Analysis
• It held that the claims are not directed to an abstract
idea because, even crediting LG's characterization of
the claims as directed to "displaying an application
summary window while the application is in an
unlaunched state," the concepts of "application,"
"summary window," and "unlaunched state" are
specific to devices like computers and cell phones.
• It explained that "LG identifie[d] no analog to these
concepts outside the context of such devices."
• It further noted even "if claim 1 were directed to an
abstract idea, it would still be patent eligible at least
because it passes the machine-or-transformation
test."
😕

Federal Circuit’s §101 Analysis (de novo)
• Skipped Step 1
• Part 2A (step 1): Standards
• “First, we "determine whether the claims at issue
are directed to a patent ineligible concept."”
• “At step one, we must "articulate what the claims
are directed to with enough specificity to ensure the
step one inquiry is meaningful."”
• “We also ask whether the claims are directed to a
specific improvement in the capabilities of
computing devices, or, instead, "a process that
qualifies as an `abstract idea' for which computers
are invoked merely as a tool."” (Enfish, LLC v.
Microsoft)

• Part 2A (step 1, cont.): Prior Holdings
• "We previously have held claims focused on various
improvements of systems directed to patent eligible
subject matter under § 101.”
• “…in Enfish, we held claims reciting a self-referential
table for a computer database eligible under step one
because the claims were directed to a particular
improvement in the computer's functionality. That the
invention ran on a general-purpose computer did not
doom the claims because unlike claims that merely
"add[] conventional computer components to well-known
business practices," the claimed self-referential table was
"a specific type of data structure designed to improve the
way a computer stores and retrieves data in memory.”

• “In Thales, we held claims reciting an improved
method of utilizing inertial sensors to
determine position and orientation of an object
on a moving platform not directed to an abstract
idea or law of nature. We noted that even though
the system used conventional sensors and a
mathematical equation, the claims specified a
particular configuration of the sensors and a
particular method of utilizing the raw data that
eliminated many of the complications inherent in
conventional methods.”

• “In Visual Memory, we held claims directed to
an improved computer memory system
w i t h p r o g r a m m a b l e o p e r a t i o n a l
characteristics defined by the processor
directed to patent-eligible subject matter. The
claimed invention provided flexibility that
prior art processors did not possess, and
obviated the need to design a separate
memory system for each type of processor.”

• “…in Finjan we held claims directed to a behavior-based
virus scanning method directed to patent eligible
subject matter because they "employ[] a new kind of file
that enables a computer security system to do things it
could not do before," including "accumulat[ing] and
utiliz[ing] newly available, behavior-based information
about potential threats." The claimed behavior-based
scans, in contrast to prior art systems which searched for
matching code, enabled more "nuanced virus filtering" in
analyzing whether "a downloadable's code . . . performs
potentially dangerous or unwanted operations." We held
the claims "therefore directed to a non-abstract
improvement in functionality, rather than the abstract
idea of computer security writ large."”

• Part 2A (step 1, cont.): Claim Analysis
• “The asserted claims in this case are directed
to an improved user interface for
computing devices, not to the abstract idea
of an index, as argued by LG on appeal.”
• “Although the generic idea of summarizing
information certainly existed prior to the
invention, these claims are directed to a
particular manner of summarizing and
presenting information in electronic devices.”

• Part 2A (step 1, cont.): Claim Analysis
• “…the '476 patent requires "an application summary that can be
reached directly from the menu," specifying a particular manner by
which the summary window must be accessed.”
• “The claim further requires the application summary window list a
limited set of data, "each of the data in the list being selectable to
launch the respective application and enable the selected data to be
seen within the respective application." This claim limitation
restrains the type of data that can be displayed in the summary
window.
• “Finally, the claim recites that the summary window "is displayed
while the one or more applications are in an un-launched state," a
requirement that the device applications exist in a particular state.”
• “These limitations disclose a specific manner of displaying a
limited set of information to the user, rather than using
conventional user interface methods to display a generic index on a
computer.”

• Part 2A (step 1, cont.): Reasoning—tied to claim language
• “The specification confirms that these claims disclose an improved user
interface for electronic devices, particularly those with small screens.”
• “This language clearly indicates that the claims are directed to an improvement
in the functioning of computers, particularly those with small screens.”
• “The disclosed invention improves the efficiency of using the electronic
device by bringing together "a limited list of common functions and
commonly accessed stored data," which can be accessed directly from the
main menu.”
• “Displaying selected data or functions of interest in the summary window
allows the user to see the most relevant data or functions "without
actually opening the application up."
• “The speed of a user's navigation through various views and windows
can be improved because it "saves the user from navigating to the
required application, opening it up, and then navigating within that
application to enable the data of interest to be seen or a function of
interest to be activated.””
• “Rather than paging through multiple screens of options, "only three
steps may be needed from start up to reaching the required data/
functionality.”

• Part 2B (step 2)
• “Because we hold that the asserted claims are
not directed to an abstract idea, we do not
proceed to the second step of the inquiry. The
claims are patent eligible under § 101.”

Contrast: Internet Patents Corp. v. Active
Network, Inc. (Ineligible)
Claim 1:
A method of providing an intelligent user interface to an on-line
application comprising the steps of:
• furnishing a plurality of icons on a web page displayed to a
user of a web browser, wherein each of said icons is a
hyperlink to a dynamically generated on-line application form
set, and wherein said web browser comprises Back and
Forward navigation functionalities;
• displaying said dynamically generated on-line application form
set in response to the activation of said hyperlink, wherein
said dynamically generated on-line application form set
comprises a state determined by at least one user input; and
• maintaining said state upon the activation of another of said
icons, wherein said maintaining allows use of said Back and
Forward navigation functionalities without loss of said state.

Contrast: Internet Patents Corp. v. Active
Network, Inc. (Ineligible)
Fed. Cir. Analysis
• “For the '505 Patent, the end result of "maintaining the state"
is described as the innovation over the prior art, and the
essential, "most important aspect:”
The most important aspect of the user interface of the present
invention is not that it has tabs or that it enables a certain
amount of non-sequential (non-linear) access to the various
form sets within a virtual application, but that it maintains
data state across all panes.
• “We agree with the district court that the character of the
claimed invention is an abstract idea: the idea of retaining
information in the navigation of online forms.”
• “As the district court observed, claim 1 contains no restriction
on how the result is accomplished. The mechanism for
maintaining the state is not described, although this is stated
to be the essential innovation.”

Contrast: Apple, Inc. v. Ameranth, Inc.
(Ineligible)
Claim 1:
An information management and synchronous communications system for generating
and transmitting menus comprising:
a. a central processing unit,
b. a data storage device connected to said central processing unit,
c. an operating system including a graphical user interface,
d. a first menu consisting of menu categories, said menu categories consisting of
menu items, said first menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a
window of said graphical user interface in a hierarchical tree format,
e. a modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a window of
said graphical user interface,
f. a sub-modifier menu stored on said data storage device and displayable in a
window of said graphical user interface, and
g. application software for generating a second menu from said first menu and
transmitting said second menu to a wireless handheld computing device or Web page,
wherein the application software facilitates the generation of the second menu by
allowing selection of catagories [sic] and items from the first menu, addition of menu
categories to the second menu, addition of menu items to the second menu and
assignment of parameters to items in the second menu using the graphical user
interface of said operating system, said parameters being selected from the modifier
and sub-modifier menus.

(Ineligible)

(Ineligible)
Fed. Cir. Analysis
• “The specifications note that "ordering prepared foods has historically been done
verbally, either directly to a waiter or over the telephone, whereupon the placed order
is recorded on paper by the recipient or instantly filled." '850 patent col. 1 ll. 23-27;
'733 patent col. 1 ll. 31-34. They explain that the "unavailability of any simple
technique for creating restaurant menus and the like for use in a limited display area
wireless handheld device or that is compatible with ordering over the internet ha[d]
prevented widespread adoption of computerization in the hospitality industry."”
• Step 2A:
• “…the Board determined that the claims in all three patents are directed to the
abstract idea of "generating a second menu from a first menu and sending the
second menu to another location."”
• “We affirm the Board's conclusion that the claims in these patents are directed
to an abstract idea. The patents claim systems including menus with particular
features. They do not claim a particular way of programming or designing the
software to create menus that have these features, but instead merely claim the
resulting systems.”
• Step 2B: “We affirm the Board's conclusion in step two that the elements of the
patents' claims — both individually and when combined — do not transform the
claimed abstract idea into a patent-eligible application of the abstract idea. The
patents can readily be understood as adding conventional computer components to
well-known business practices.”

Takeaways
• Write a robust specification.
• What is the technical problem with prior interfaces?
• How does this new interface address this problem?
• Claim the actual improvement, not just the
result.
• State the efficiencies of the new user interface.
• Even if they just make user interaction more efficient.
• In arguments, identify how specific limitations
improve functioning of computer system.

Core Wireless Licensing v. LG Electronics: User Interfaces & Patent-Eligible Subject Matter

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