NetSoc, LLC v. Quora, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
NETSOC, LLC, Case No. 19-cv-06518-VC
Plaintiff,
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
v. DISMISS; DENYING MOTION TO
AMEND
QUORA, INC.,
Re: Dkt. Nos. 78, 80 Defendant.
Quora’s motion to dismiss is granted. The ’591 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101. 1. The ’591 patent is directed to the abstract idea of a social network. See ’591 Pat. 1:1-4 (“Method and System for Establishing and Using a Social Network to Facilitate People in Life Issues”); Plaintiff’s Opposition to Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. No. 84, at 12-14; see also Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 134 S. Ct. 2347, 2355 (2014). NetSoc’s assertion that a computer- implemented social network does not fall within section 101’s implicit exception for abstract ideas is wrong. See 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (USPTO), 84 Fed. Reg. 52 (January 7, 2019) (explaining that methods for “managing . . . relationships or interactions between people (including social activities . . .)” are unpatentable abstract ideas); Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA), 792 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir.…