New Millennium Software International, L.L.C. v. Phantom Auto Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
NEW MILLENNIUM SOFTWARE Case No. 23-cv-03278-VC
INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.,
Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
DISMISS
v. Re: Dkt. No.
PHANTOM AUTO INC.,
Defendant.
The motion to dismiss is granted because the claims in U.S. Patent No. 8,831,780 are drawn to ineligible subject matter. This ruling assumes the reader is familiar with the facts, the applicable legal standard, and the arguments made by the parties. 1. The patent is directed to the abstract idea of interactive telepresence—the ability to be in one place but experience the world as if you were in another. It claims a system comprising the following features: A robot acquires and transmits real-time video. A user receives the live footage and remotely controls the robot by sending it commands. And networked servers connect the two. The claims describe the invention in generic terms and offer little explanation of how any component in the system performs its intended functions. See Hawk Technology Systems, LLC v. Castle Retail, LLC, 60 F.4th 1349, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2023). The specification likewise describes the invention at a high…