Broadband iTV, Inc. v. Amazon.Com, Inc

Authored by: Jeremy J. Gustrowsky

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed that several patents owned by Broadband iTV, Inc. covering electronic program guides for video-on-demand systems are not eligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Broadband iTV had sued Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates, alleging infringement of five patents, including U.S. Patent Nos. 10,028,026; 9,648,388; 10,536,750; 10,536,751; and 9,973,825. The court ultimately found that the asserted claims were directed to abstract ideas and lacked the necessary inventive step to be considered patent-eligible.

The patents at issue related to two main ideas: first, using metadata to organize and display video content in a hierarchical, template-based program guide; and second, adjusting the order of video categories in a guide based on a viewer’s history to make navigation easier. The court agreed with the district court that both concepts were abstract. Organizing and displaying information based on metadata, and tailoring recommendations based on user history, were seen as longstanding human practices—comparable to how a video store clerk might suggest movies to a customer.

Broadband iTV argued that their patents improved the technology of user interfaces, pointing to features like layered templates and individualized guides. However, the court found that these elements did not offer a specific technological solution or improvement. Instead, they were implemented using generic, conventional computer components and methods. The court also emphasized that simply automating an abstract idea or making a process more efficient does not make it patent-eligible.

In the end, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Amazon, holding that the asserted claims were patent-ineligible because they did not add anything significantly more to the underlying abstract ideas. This decision reinforces the principle that ideas rooted in longstanding human practices or abstract concepts, even when implemented on a computer, must include an inventive step to be patentable.