The Federal Circuit invalidated as abstract two patents Friday covering an automated method for lawyers and other professionals to send clients due-date reminders over the Internet.
Using a computer doesn’t make the abstract idea of “keeping track of deadlines for clients and carrying out two-way communications with clients relevant to meeting those deadlines” patent-eligible, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in an unpublished ruling.
WhitServe LLC owns U.S. Patent Nos. 5,895,468 and 6,182,078, covering software that helps “professionals, e.g., attorneys, perform functions for clients that involve a series of deadlines but cannot be performed without client ...