Shopify Beats Infringement Suit Over Social Media Retail Patents

Shopify Inc. convinced a federal judge that four e-commerce patents it’s accused of infringing are invalid because they claim only abstract ideas.

DKR Consulting LLC’s patents, covering technology to “exploit social media marketing trends to engage in purchase transactions,” are ineligible for patent protection because they simply detail performing age-old business practices on the Internet, according to an order published Thursday in the US District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Hernán D. Vera dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice in its entirety.

DKR sued the e-commerce platform in April 2023, asserting US Patent Nos. 10,846,785; 11,157,995; 11,455,678; and ...