Part of a delivery notification patent owned by Electronic Communication Technologies LLC is invalid because it relates to a long-existing abstract concept, the Federal Circuit said in a Thursday precedential decision.
ECT’s system covers the unpatentable idea of “providing advance notification of the pickup or delivery of a mobile thing,” the court said.
ECT sued ShoppersChoice.com LLC in Florida federal court for infringing U.S. Patent No. 9,373,261, related to an automated notification system with a user option to communicate with a “delivery or pickup representative.”
The district court found the relevant part of the patent invalid, saying that “business practices ...