Baggage Airline Guest Servs., Inc. v. Roadie, Inc.

• Decision Date: 07 January 2019
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 18-707-RGA
• Citation: 351 F.Supp.3d 753
• Parties: BAGGAGE AIRLINE GUEST SERVICES, INC., Plaintiff; v. ROADIE, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

351 F.Supp.3d 753

BAGGAGE AIRLINE GUEST SERVICES, INC., Plaintiff;

v.ROADIE, INC., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 18-707-RGA

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

Signed January 7, 2019

Neal Belgam and Eve H. Ormerod, SMITH, KATZENSTEIN & JENKINS LLP, Wilmington, DE; Stefan V. Stein (argued), Mayanne Downs, Jason Zimmerman, and Cole Carlson, GRAY ROBINSON P.A., Orlando, FL, attorneys for Plaintiff.

Pilar G. Kraman, YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR, LLP, Wilmington, DE; Edward A. Pennington, John P. Moy (argued), John P. Pennington, and Darlene K Tzou, SMITH, GAMBRELL & RUSSELL LLP, Washington, DC, attorneys for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ANDREWS, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Currently pending before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. (D.I. 39). The parties have fully briefed the issues. (D.I. 39, 46, 107). The Court heard oral argument on December 4, 2018. (D.I. 109). After considering the parties' briefing and arguments, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion for judgment on the pleadings.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Baggage Airlines Guest Services, Inc. filed suit on August 24, 2017 against Defendant Roadie, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. (D.I. 1). Plaintiff's Complaint alleges that Defendant infringes U.S. Patent No. 9,659,336 ("the '336 patent") both directly and indirectly by inducing or contributing to infringement by others. (D.I. ¶ 26). On May 9, 2018, the Florida court transferred the case to this Court. (D.I. 67).

The '336 patent"relates to an apparatus, method and system for dispatching baggage." ( '336 patent, Abstract). The '336 patent has three independent claims: claim 1 is an apparatus claim, claim 7 is a method claim, and claim 13 is "directed to a computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for dispatching baggage." (D.I. 39 at 8). The language of these claims is substantially similar. Claim 7 is representative¹ and reads as follows:

7. A method of dispatching baggage, comprising:

receiving, through a transceiver of a server and after a piece of baggage has been transported to a destination, baggage information relating to the piece of baggage to be delivered to a passenger, the baggage information including a drop off address, wherein the passenger is at a location different than the destination;

associating, by the processor of the server, the baggage information with a delivery person, wherein the delivery person is associated with delivery person information;

transmitting, through the transceiver, a pick up bags message to a deliverer computing device associated with the delivery persona;

transmitting, through the transceiver, at least a portion of the baggage information and the delivery person information to a passenger computing device associated with the passenger;

receiving, through the transceiver, from the passenger computing device a selection to hold delivery of the piece of baggage using a passenger interface until a delayed delivery time wherein the passenger interface displays travel information of the passenger including at least one of an airline name and an airport name and a baggage map configured to display on the passenger computing device an approximate location or current location of the piece of baggage associated with the travel information wherein the passenger interface is updated with changes in the approximate location or the current location of the piece of baggage during transport;

relaying, through the transceiver, a delivery change to the deliverer computing device responsive to the selection to hold delivery of the piece of baggage using the passenger interface; and

reordering, by the processor of the server, other deliveries associated with the deliverer computing device given the delivery change.

( '336 patent, cl. 7). On February 6, 2018, Defendant filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings under Rule 12(c) for lack of patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 or, in the alternative, for failure to state a claim of infringement. (D.I. 39).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Rule 12(c)

A Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings is reviewed under the same standard as a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss when the Rule 12(c) motion alleges that the plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Turbe v. Gov't of the Virgin Islands , 938 F.2d 427, 428 (3d Cir. 1991) ; Revell v. Port Auth. , 598 F.3d 128, 134 (3d Cir. 2010). The court must accept the factual allegations in the complaint and take them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) ; Christopher v. Harbury , 536 U.S. 403, 406, 122 S.Ct. 2179, 153 L.Ed.2d 413 (2002). "When there are well-ple[d] factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The court must "draw on its judicial experience and common sense" to make the determination. See id. In ruling on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, the court is generally limited to the pleadings. Mele v. Fed. Reserve Bank of N.Y. , 359 F.3d 251, 257 (3d Cir. 2004). The court may, however, consider documents incorporated into the pleadings and those that are in the public record. Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. v. White Consol. Indus., Inc. , 998 F.2d 1192, 1196 (3d Cir. 1993).

B. 35 U.S.C. § 101

Section 101 of the Patent Act defines patent-eligible subject matter. It provides: "Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title." 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Supreme Court has recognized an implicit exception for three categories of subject matter not eligible for patentability—laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas. Alice Corp. Pty. v. CLS Bank Int'l , 573 U.S. 208, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 2354, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014). The purpose of these carve outs is to protect the "basic tools of scientific and technological work." Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc. , 566 U.S. 66, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1293, 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012). "[A] process is not unpatentable simply because it contains a law of nature or a mathematical algorithm," as "an application of a law of nature or mathematical formula to a known structure or process may well be deserving of patent protection." Id. at 1293–94 (cleaned up). In order "to transform an unpatentable law of nature into a patent-eligible application of such a law, one must do more than simply state the law of nature while adding the words ‘apply it.’ " Id. at 1294 (emphasis omitted).

The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the framework laid out in Mayo "for distinguishing patents that claim laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas from those that claim patent-eligible applications of those concepts." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2355. First, the court must determine whether the claims are drawn to a patent-ineligible concept. Id. If the answer is yes, the court must look to "the elements of the claim both individually and as an ‘ordered combination’ " to see if there is an " ‘inventive concept’—i.e. , an element or combination of elements that is ‘sufficient to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [ineligible concept] itself.’ " Id. (alteration in original). "A claim that recites an abstract idea must include ‘additional features’ to ensure that the [claim] is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the [abstract idea]." Id. at 2357. Further, "the prohibition against patenting abstract ideas cannot be circumvented by attempting to limit the use of [the idea] to a particular technological environment." Id. at 2358 (quoting Bilski v. Kappos , 561 U.S. 593, 610-11, 130 S.Ct. 3218, 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010) ). Thus, "the mere recitation of a generic computer cannot transform a patent-ineligible abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention." Id. For this second step, the machine-or-transformation test can be a "useful clue," although it is not determinative. Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC , 772 F.3d 709, 716 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

"Whether a claim is drawn to patent-eligible subject matter under § 101 is an issue of law," and "is a matter of both claim construction and statutory construction." In re Bilski , 545 F.3d 943, 951 (Fed. Cir. 2008), aff'd sub nom. Bilski v. Kappos , 561 U.S. 593, 130 S.Ct. 3218, 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010). "Claim construction is a question of law ...." In re Nuijten , 500 F.3d 1346, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2007). At Alice step two, however, "[w]hether something is well-understood, routine, and conventional to a skilled artisan at the time of the patent is a factual determination." Berkheimer v. HP Inc. , 881 F.3d 1360, 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2018).

The Federal Circuit has held that the district court is not required to individually address claims not asserted or identified by the non-moving party, so long as the court identifies a representative claim and "all the claims are substantially similar and linked to the same abstract idea." Content Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat'l Ass'n , 776 F.3d 1343, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Abstract Idea

"First, we determine whether the claims at issue are directed to [an abstract idea]." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2355. "The ‘abstract ideas’ category embodies ‘the longstanding rule that an idea of itself is not patentable.’ " Id. (quoting Gottschalk v. Benson , 409 U.S. 63, 67, 93 S.Ct. 253, 34 L.Ed.2d 273 (1972) ). "The Supreme Court has not established a definitive rule to determine what constitutes an ‘abstract idea’ sufficient to satisfy the first step of the Mayo / Alice inquiry." Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp. , 822 F.3d 1327, 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2...