Bloomberg Law
Dec. 31, 2020, 6:11 PM

Match, Quora Wins Over Social Network Patents Upheld on Appeal

Perry Cooper
Perry Cooper
Legal Reporter

Match Group LLC and Quora Inc. are free from infringement suits over social network patents after the Federal Circuit agreed that the inventions are ineligible for patent protection.

Two federal district courts invalidated NetSoc LLC’s U.S. Patent Nos. 9,978,107 and 9,218,591 on a system for establishing a social network to help people resolve life issues. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed both decisions in a nonprecedential opinion.

The patents “are directed to the abstract idea of automating the conventional establishment of social networks to allow humans to exchange information and form relationships,” the appeals court ...