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Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge CHEN. Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge MAYER. CHEN, Circuit Judge. Defendants-Appellants National Leisure Group, Inc. and World Travel Holdings, Inc. (collectively, NLG) appeal from a final judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee DDR Holdings, LLC (DDR). Following trial, a jury found that NLG infringes the asserted claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,993,572 (the '572 patent) and 7,818,399 (the '399 patent). The jury also found the asserted claims of the '572 and '399 patents are not invalid. The district court denied NLGâs renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) on, inter alia, noninfringement and invalidity of the asserted patents. The district court subsequently entered a final judgment consistent with the juryâs findings on infringement, validity, and damages, and awarded DDR pre- and post-judgment interest and costs. We affirm the district courtâs denial of NLGâs motions for JMOL of noninfringement and invalidity of the '399 patent. Because we conclude that the '572 patent is anticipated as a matter of law, we reverse the district courtâs denial of JMOL on the validity of the '572 patent, and remand to the district court for further proceedings consistent with our decision. I. Background DDR is the assignee of the '572 and '399 patents. The '572 and '399 patents are both continuations of U.S. Patent No. 6,629,135 (the '135 patent), which has a priority date of September 17, 1998. Each of these patents is directed to systems and methods of generating a composite web page that combines certain visual elements of a âhostâ website with content of a third-party merchant. For example, the generated composite web page may combine the logo, background color, and fonts of the host website with product information from the merchant. '135 patent, 12:46-50. The common specification of the patents-in-suit explains that prior art systems allowed third-party merchants to âlure the [host websiteâs] visitor traffic awayâ from the host website because visitors would be taken to the third-party merchantâs website when they clicked on the merchantâs advertisement on the host site. Id. at 2:26-30 . The patents-in-suit disclose a system that provides a solution to this problem (for the host) by creating a new web page that permits a website visitor, in a sense, to be in two places at the same time. On activation of a hyperlink on a host website â such as an advertisement for a third-party merchant â instead of taking the visitor to the merchantâs website, the system generates and directs the visitor to a composite web page that displays product information from the third-party merchant, but retains the host websiteâs *1249 âlook and feel.â Id. at 3:9-21 . Thus, the host website can display a third-party merchantâs products, but retain its visitor traffic by displaying this product information from within a generated web page that âgives the viewer of the page the impression that she is viewing pages served by the hostâ website. Id. at 2:56-63, 3:20-22 . Representative claim 13 of the '572 patent recites: 13. An e-commerce outsourcing system comprising: a) a data store including a look and feel description associated with a host web page having a link correlated with a commerce object; and b) a computer processor coupled to the data store and in communication through the Internet with the host web page and programmed, upon receiving an indication that the link has been activated by a visitor computer in Internet communication with the host web page, to serve a composite web page to the visitor computer wit[h] a look and feel based on the look and feel description in the data store and with content based on the commerce object associated wit[h] the link. System claim 13 requires that the recited system provide the host website with a âlinkâ that âeorrelate[s]â the host website with a âcommerce object.â The âcommerce objectâ is the product or product catalog of the merchant. '135 patent, 3:7-13. After recognizing that a website visitor has activated the link, the system retrieves data from a âdata storeâ that describes the âlook and feelâ of the host web page, which can include visual elements such as logos, colors, fonts, and page frames. Id. at 12:46-50 . The claimed system then constructs a composite web page comprising a âlook and feelâ based on the look and feel description in the data store along with content based on product information from the associated merchantâs product catalog. The '399 patent is directed to a similar system with a greater emphasis on a âscalable [computer] architectureâ to serve âdynamically constructed [web] pagesâ associated with multiple host website and merchant pairs. '135 patent, 3:32-36. Representative claim 19 of the '399 patent recites: 19. A system useful in an outsource provider serving web pages offering commercial opportunities, the system comprising: (a) a computer store containing data, for each of a plurality of first web pages, defining a plurality of visually perceptible elements, which visually perceptible elements correspond to the plurality of first web pages; (i) wherein each of the first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners; (ii) wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active link associated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunity of a selected one of a plurality of merchants; and (iii) wherein the selected merchant, the out-source provider, and the owner of the first web page displaying the associated link are each third parties with respect to one other; (b) a computer server at the outsource provider, which computer server is coupled to the computer store and programmed to: (i) receive from the web browser of a computer user a signal indicating activation of one of the links displayed by one of the first web pages; *1250 (ii) automatically identify as the source page the one of the first web pages on which the link has been activated; (iii) in response to identification of the source page, automatically retrieve the stored data corresponding to the source page; and (iv) using the data retrieved, automatically generate and transmit to the web browser a second web page that displays: (A) information associated with the commerce object associated with the link that has been activated, and (B) the plurality of visually perceptible elements visually corresponding to the source page. Similar to claim 13 of the '572 patent, system claim 19 of the '399 patent requires that a âdata storeâ hold âvisually perceptible elementsâ (or â âlook and feelâ elementsâ) that âvisually ... correspondâ to a host web page. The host web page must include a link associated with a âbuying opportunityâ with a merchant. Once a visitor activates this link, the claimed system generates and transmits to the website visitorâs web browser a composite web page that includes product information of the merchant and the âlook and feelâ of the host website (i.e., âthe plurality of visually perceptible elements visually corresponding to the [host web] pageâ). Claim 19 further requires that the data store must store âlook and feelâ descriptions for multiple hosts and that each link must be associated with a particular merchantâs product catalog. Claim 19 also requires that the merchant, system operator, and host website be âthird parties with respect to one another.â When a website visitor activates a link associated with a merchantâs product catalog, the claimed system identifies the host web page and then transmits a composite web page using the proper âlook and feelâ elements of the host website in the data store and the product information from the associated merchant. The '572 patent issued on January 31, 2006. On the same day, DDR filed suit against NLG, Digital River, Inc. (Digital River), and nine other defendants, asserting infringement of various claims of the '135 and '572 patents. NLG is a travel agency that sells cruises in partnership with travel-oriented websites and major cruise lines through the Internet. DDRâs suit accused NLG of infringing the '135 and '572 patents by providing a system for cruise-oriented (host) websites that allows visitors to book cruises on major cruise lines (merchants). Joint Appendix (J.A.) 261. In particular, when a visitor on one of these cruise-oriented (host) websites clicks on an advertisement for a cruise, NLGâs system generates and directs the visitor to a composite web page that incorporates âlook and feelâ elements from the host website and product information from the cruise line (merchant). DDRâs suit was stayed during the pendency of an ex parte reexamination of the '135 and '572 patents requested by DDR that was based on prior art identified by the defendants. Shortly after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office confirmed the validity of the '135 and '572 patents and the stay was lifted, the '399 patent issued on October 19, 2010. DDR subsequently amended its complaint to assert infringement of this patent by several of the defendants, including NLG. During Markman proceedings, the parties stipulated to a construction of several terms, including âlook and feel,â which appears in each of the asserted claims of the '572 patent, and âvisually perceptible elements,â which appears in each of the asserted claims of the '399 patent. J.A. 542. For âlook and feel,â the parties agreed to a *1251 construction of: âA set of elements related to visual appearance and user interface conveying an overall appearance identifying a website; such elements include logos, colors, page layout, navigation systems, frames, âmouse-overâ effects, or others elements consistent through some or all of the website.â Id. For âvisually perceptible elements,â the parties agreed to a construction of: âlook and feel elements that can be seen.â Id. The defendants, however, expressly reserved their rights to argue that both the âlook and feelâ and âvisually perceptible elementsâ terms are indefinite, but offered the stipulated constructions âin the alternative.â Id. Between June 2012 and January 2013, DDR settled with all defendants except for NLG and Digital River. The case eventually proceeded to a jury trial in October 2012. At trial, DDR accused NLG and Digital River of direct and willful infringement of claims 13, 17, and 20 of the '572 patent, and accused NLG â but not Digital River â of direct and willful infringement of claims 1, 3, and 19 of the '399 patent. DDR also accused NLG and Digital River of inducing infringement of claim 17 of the '572 patent. The jury found that NLG and Digital River directly infringed the asserted claims of the '572 patent and that NLG directly infringed the asserted claims of the '399 patent, but that NLG and Digital Riverâs infringement was not willful. The jury found that NLG and Digital River did not induce infringement of claim 17 of the '572 patent. The jury also found that the asserted claims were not invalid. The jury determined DDR was entitled to $750,000 in damages from both NLG and Digital River for infringing DDRâs patents. At the conclusion of trial, NLG and Digital River renewed motions for JMOL pursuant to Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) on several grounds. NLG contended the asserted claims of the '572 and '399 patents are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 because the claims are directed to patent-ineligible subject matter and invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 2 1 because the terms âlook and feelâ and âvisually perceptible elementsâ are indefinite: NLG also contended that neither the juryâs finding of infringement nor its award of damages was supported by substantial evidence. NLG also alleged the district court made several unfair and prejudicial evidentiary rulings. Digital River contended that the asserted claims of the '572 patent are invalid as either anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102 , obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103 , or indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶2. Digital River also contended that the juryâs finding of infringement was not supported by substantial evidence. Digital River moved for a new trial pursuant to FRCP 59. The district court denied NLG and Digital Riverâs motions for JMOL and Digital Riverâs FRCP 59 motion for a new trial. Over the defendantsâ objections, the district court awarded DDR an additional $284,404 in prejudgment interest pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 284 . The district court entered a final judgment in favor of DDR, and NLG and Digital River timely appealed. NLG and Digital Riverâs appeals were consolidated and fully briefed. Prior to oral argument, DDR and Digital River settled, and we granted Digital Riverâs motion to terminate its appeal. D.I. 65, 68. NLGâs appeal continued. We have *1252 jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295 (a)(1). II. Discussion Since the denial of a motion for JMOL is not patent law-specific, regional circuit law applies. The Fifth Circuit reviews the denial of a JMOL motion de novo. See, e.g., Harris Corp. v. Ericsson Inc., 417 F.3d 1241, 1248 (Fed.Cir.2005). In the Fifth Circuit, JMOL is appropriate if âthe facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of one party that the court concludes that reasonable jurors could not arrive at a contrary verdict.â Id. The Court âmust presume that the jury resolved all factual disputes in the [prevailing partyâs] favor.â Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. v. Maersk Drilling USA, Inc., 699 F.3d 1340, 1347 (Fed.Cir.2012) (applying Fifth Circuit law to the review of a district courtâs grant of JMOL). A. Anticipation We turn first to the district courtâs denial of Digital Riverâs motion for JMOL of invalidity of the '572 patent based on 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a). A patent claim is anticipated if a single prior art reference expressly or inherently discloses every limitation of the claim. See, e.g., Orion IP, LLC v. Hyundai Motor Am., 605 F.3d 967, 975 (Fed.Cir.2010). Anticipation challenges under § 102 must focus only on the limitations actually recited in the claims. See Constant v. Adv. Micro-Devices, Inc., 848 F.2d 1560 , 1570-71 (Fed.Cir.1988) (finding âlimitations [ ] not found anywhere in the claimsâ to be irrelevant to an anticipation challenge). Whether a reference discloses a limitation is a question of fact, and a juryâs findings on questions of fact are reviewed for substantial evidence. See, e.g., Dawn Equip. Co. v. Ky. Farms Inc., 140 F.3d 1009, 1014 (Fed.Cir.1998). Invalidity by anticipation must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. See Microsoft Corp. v. i4i L.P., â U.S. ---, 131 S.Ct. 2238, 2242 , 180 L.Ed.2d 131 (2011). On appeal, the parties only dispute whether Digital Riverâs prior art Secure Sales System (SSS) satisfies the âlook and feelâ limitation; DDR does not dispute that the SSS satisfies every other limitation of the '572 patentâs asserted claims. NLG, which adopted Digital Riverâs anticipation challenge to the '572 patent, 2 argues that no evidence supports the juryâs finding that the SSS does not disclose the âlook and feelâ limitation, since it showed the jury multiple examples of composite web pages generated by the SSS with a âlook and feelâ based on a set of âlook and feelâ elements from the corresponding host website. *1253 DDR contends that, as the district court determined, âit is up to the trier of fact to determine whether the combination of elements making up the overall appearance of a website has a similar âlook and feelâ as compared to another website.â DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P., 954 F.Supp.2d 509, 517 (E.D.Tex.2013). DDR contends that the jury reviewed substantial evidence that Digital Riverâs SSS did not replicate the host websiteâs âlook and feelâ in terms of âoverall appearanceâ and that the web pages generated by the SSS did not show âcorrespondence of overall appearance.â In particular, DDR argues that the SSS did not satisfy this limitation since it did not replicate a sufficient number of âlook and feelâ elements from the host web page. Appelleeâs Br. 45-46. We find that the record allows only one reasonable finding: clear and convincing evidence establishes that Digital Riverâs prior art SSS anticipates the asserted claims of the '572 patent. The record lacks substantial evidence to support the juryâs finding that the asserted claims of the '572 patent are not anticipated. Therefore, the district court erred by denying the defendantsâ motion for JMOL of invalidity of the '572 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a). Digital Riverâs prior art SSS was operational and sold to its first customer by August 12, 1996. J.A. 6618-23. By August 1997, more than a year before the filing date of the provisional application for the '135 patent, Digital Riverâs SSS had attracted its 500th customer. J.A. 6257. Digital River advertised its SSS as a system for generating web pages that .allowed website visitors to âpurchase and download the digital products of their choice,â but still âretain[ed] the look and feel of [the hostâs] site.â J.A. 6202 (emphasis added). The SSS was activated when visitors on a hostâs website clicked a âweb site âbuyâ buttonâ hyperlink. J.A. 6320. Digital Riverâs advertisements explained that â[w]hen [website visitor] customers want to purchase, they push the âbuyâ button and are transferred immediately and transparently to the Digital River Central Commerce Server.â J.A. 6202. This component of the SSS then generated and served composite web pages to website visitors that incorporated âlook and feelâ elements of the host website and product information associated with the host websiteâs âweb storeâ in a manner that âreplicate[d] the look and feel of the [hostâs] Web site.â J.A. 6320 (emphasis added). These âlook and feelâ elements and this product information content were stored by Digital River in a data warehouse and retrieved for incorporation into the generated composite web page based on a correlation with the âbuyâ button hyperlink on the host website. See id. In this way, Digital Riverâs SSS would allow âtransaction[s to] take[ ] place in the selling environment [the host website had] created, surrounded by the look and feel of [the host websiteâs] identity----There [would be] no sensation [for a website visitor] of being suddenly hustled off to another location.â J.A. 6123 (emphasis added). During trial, a Digital River witness testified at length on how the SSS generated composite web pages with âlook and feelâ elements from host websites, and operated the SSS for the jury. Digital River also showed the jury several composite web pages generated by the SSS for host websites before the earliest priority date of the '572 patent, including a composite web page that incorporated several elements identified in DDRâs patents or by DDRâs expert at trial as âlook and feel elementsâ: the host websiteâs logo, background color, and prominent circular icons. J.A. 8856-57 (composite web page), 7502 (host website); see also J.A. 8858-61 (composite web *1254 page incorporating host website logo, colors, fonts), 6122 (example web page from host website). The partiesâ stipulated construction of âlook and feelâ requires the generated composite web page to include a set of elements from the host website, each of these elements being a âlook and feel elementâ described in the specification that âconvey[s] an overall appearance identifying a website.â J.A. 542. Consistent with the specification, the stipulated construction defines these âlook and feel elementsâ that âconvey an overall appearance identifying a websiteâ to âinclude logos, colors, page layout, navigation systems, frames, âmouse-overâ effects, or other elements that are consistent through some or all of a Hostâs website.â Id.; see also '572 patent, 14:11-14. Digital Riverâs SSS clearly satisfies this limitation. For example, Digital River showed the jury a host website that included a stylized logo, a particular background color, and prominent circular icons. J.A. 7502. The SSS generated a prior art composite web page that incorporated each of these âlook and feelâ elements. J.A. 8856-57; see also J.A. 6172 (host website) and 6171 (SSS-generated prior art composite web page incorporating logo, navigational menu, and color âlook and feelâ elements). And as explained above, the SSS was consistently promoted and advertised as creating a composite web page that retained the âlook and feelâ of the host website. E.g., J.A. 6123, 6202, 6320. Both the district court and DDR introduced a limitation found neither in the '572 patentâs claims nor the partiesâ stipulated construction. In particular, the district court introduced a requirement that the generated composite web page have an âoverall matchâ in appearance with the host website, beyond what is expressly recited by the claims. DDR Holdings, 954 F.Supp.2d at 517 ; see also Appelleeâs Br. 47. There is nothing, however, in the partiesâ stipulated construction of âlook and feel,â the claim language, or the specification that requires the generated composite web page to match the host website or to incorporate a specific number, proportion, or selection of the identified âlook and feelâ elements on a host website. In order to satisfy this limitation, it is sufficient that âlook and feelâ elements identifying the host website are transferred to and displayed on the generated composite webpage. For example, independent claim 13 of the '572 patent merely requires that the generated composite web page have a âlook and feel based on the look and feel description in the data store and content based on the commerce object associated wit[h] the link.â Independent claim 17 requires only that the generated composite web page have a âlook and feel corresponding to the stored look and feel descriptionâ of the host website. There is no claim language requiring an âoverall matchâ or a specific number of âlook and feelâ elements. Further, the common specification explains that â[t]he look and feel is captured by selecting an example page [from] the host, retrieving the sample page from the host, identifying the look and feel elements from the sample page, and saving the identified look and feel elements.â '572 patent, 14:7-10. Nothing in the common specification suggests that satisfaction of the âlook and feelâ limitation requires more than mechanically identifying âlook and feel elementsâ from a web page on the host website, storing thesĂ© elements in a data store, and using these stored âlook and feel elementsâ to create the âlook and feelâ of the generated composite web page. The juryâs determination that the SSS does not anticipate claims 13, 17, and 20 of the '572 patent is not supported by sub *1255 stantial evidence. Therefore, the district court erred by denying the defendantsâ motion for JMOL of invalidity of the '572 patent under 85 U.S.C. § 102 (a). 3 B. Patent-eligible subject matter NLG also contends that the district court erred by denying its motion for' JMOL that the asserted claims of the '572 and '399 patents are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 . Since the '572 patent is invalid as anticipated under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a), we focus on NLGâs § 101 challenge to claims 1, 3, and 19 of the '399 patent. We conclude, as did the district court, that the asserted claims of the '399 patent clear the § 101 hurdle. We review the district courtâs determination of patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 de novo. Dealertrack, Inc. v. Huber, 674 F.3d 1315, 1333 (Fed.Cir.2012). In Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., â U.S. ---, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1294 , 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012), the Supreme Court set forth an analytical framework under § 101 to distinguish patents that claim patent-ineligible laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas â or add too little to such underlying ineligible subject matter â from those that claim patent-eligible applications of those concepts. First, given the nature of the invention in this case, we determine whether the claims at issue are directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea. Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l, â U.S. ---, 134 S.Ct. 2347 , 2355, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014). If so, we then consider the elements of each claim â both individually and as an ordered combination â to determine whether the additional elements transform the nature of the claim into a patent-eligible application of that abstract idea. Id. This second step is the search for an âinventive concept,â or some element or combination of elements sufficient to ensure that the claim in practice amounts to âsignificantly moreâ than a patent on an ineligible concept. Id. Distinguishing between claims that recite a patent-eligible invention and claims that add too little to a patent-ineligible abstract concept can be difficult, as the line separating the two is not always clear. At one time, a computer-implemented invention was considered patent-eligible so long as it produced a âuseful, concrete and tangible result.â State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Fin. Grp., Inc., 149 F.3d 1368, 1373 (Fed.Cir.1998) (finding a machine that transformed data by a series of mathematical calculations to a final share price to be patent-eligible); see also In re Alappat, 33 F.3d 1526, 1544 (Fed.Cir.1994) (en banc). This understanding rested, in large part, on the view that such inventions crossed the eligibility threshold by virtue of being in the technological realm, the historical arena for patented inventions. See, e.g., In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943, 952, 954-56 (Fed.Cir.2008) (en banc) (concluding that a patent-eligible process must either be âtied to a particular machine or apparatusâ or transformed into a different state or thing, i.e., the âmachine-or-transformation testâ). While the Supreme Court in Bilski v. Kappos noted that the machine-or-transformation test is a âuseful and important clueâ for determining patent eligibility, 561 U.S. 593 , 130 S.Ct. 3218 , 3227, 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010), it is clear today that not all machine implementations are creat *1256 ed equal. For example, in Mayo, the Supreme Court emphasized that satisfying the machine-or-transformation test, by itself, is not sufficient to render a claim patent-eligible, as not all transformations or machine implementations infuse an otherwise ineligible claim with an âinventive concept.â See 132 S.Ct. at 1301 (â[SJimply implementing a mathematical principle on a physical machine, namely a computer, [i]s not a patentable application of that principle.â) (describing Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 64 , 93 S.Ct. 253 , 34 L.Ed.2d 273 (1972)). And after Alice, there can remain no doubt: recitation of generic computer limitations does not make an otherwise ineligible claim patent-eligible. 134 S.Ct. at 2358. The bare fact that a computer exists in the physical rather than purely conceptual realm âis beside the point.â Id. Although the Supreme Court did not âdelimit the precise contours of the âabstract ideasâ categoryâ in resolving Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2356-57, over the course of several cases the Court has provided some important principles. We know that mathematical algorithms, including those executed on a generic computer, are abstract ideas. See Benson, 409 U.S. at 64 , 93 S.Ct. 253 . We know that some fundamental economic and conventional business practices are also abstract ideas. See Bilski, 130 S.Ct. at 3231 (finding the âfundamental economic practiceâ of hedging to be patent ineligible); Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2356 (same for intermediated settlement). In some instances, patent-ineligible abstract ideas are plainly identifiable and divisible from the generic computer limitations recited by the remainder of the claim. For example, the Supreme Court in Alice determined that the claims at issue âsimply instructed] the practitioner to implement the abstract idea of intermediated settlement on a generic computer.â 134 S.Ct. at 2359. In Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC, 772 F.3d 709, 715-16 (Fed.Cir.2014), the claims merely recited the abstract idea of using advertising as a currency as applied to the particular technological environment of the Internet. In buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed.Cir.2014), the claims recited no more than using a computer to send and receive information over a network in order to implement the abstract idea of creating a âtransaction performance guaranty.â In Accenture Global Servs., GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc., 728 F.3d 1336, 1344-45 (Fed.Cir.2013), the claims merely recited âgeneralized software components arranged to implement an abstract concept [of generating insurance-policy-related tasks based on rules to be completed upon the occurrence of an event] on a computer.â And in Bancorp Servs., L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada (U.S.), 687 F.3d 1266, 1278 (Fed.Cir.2012), the claims recited no more than the use of a computer âemployed only for its most basic function, the performance of repetitive calculations,â to implement the abstract idea of managing a stable-value protected life insurance policy. Under Supreme Court precedent, the above claims were recited too broadly and generically to be considered sufficiently specific and meaningful applications of their underlying abstract ideas. Although many of the claims recited various computer hardware elements, these claims in substance were directed to nothing more than the performance of an abstract business practice on .the Internet or using a conventional computer. Such claims are not patent-eligible. Against this background, we turn to the '399 patentâs asserted claims. We begin our § 101 analysis at Mayo/Alice step one: determining whether the computer-implemented claims at issue here are âdirected toâ a patent-ineligible ab *1257 stract idea. 4 Here, we note that the '399 patentâs asserted claims do not recite a mathematical algorithm. Nor do they recite a fundamental economic or longstanding commercial practice. Although the claims address a business challenge (retaining website visitors), it is a challenge particular to the Internet. Indeed, identifying the precise nature of the abstract idea is not as straightforward as in Alice or some of our other recent abstract idea cases. NLGâs own varying formulations of the underlying abstract idea illustrate this difficulty. NLG characterizes the allegedly abstract idea in numerous ways, including âmaking two web pages look the same,â âsyndicated commerce on the computer using the Internet,â and âmaking two e-commerce web pages look alike by using licensed trademarks, logos, color schemes and layouts.â See, e.g., Appellantâs Br. 18-20. The dissent characterizes DDRâs patents as describing the entrepreneurial goal âthat an online merchantâs sales can be increased if two web pages have the same âlook and feel.â â Dissenting Op. 1263. But as discussed below, under any of these characterizations of the abstract idea, the '399 patentâs claims satisfy Mayo/Alice step two. As an initial matter, it is true that the claims here are similar to the claims in the cases discussed above in the sense that the claims involve both a computer and the Internet. But these claims stand apart because they do not merely recite the performance of some business practice known from the pre-Internet world along with the requirement to perform it on the Internet. Instead, the claimed solution is necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks. In particular, the '399 patentâs claims address the problem of retaining website visitors that, if adhering to the routine, conventional functioning of Internet hyperlink protocol, would be instantly transported away from a hostâs website after âclickingâ on an advertisement and activating a hyperlink. For example, asserted claim 19 recites a system that, among other things, 1) stores âvisually perceptible elementsâ corresponding to numerous host websites in a database, with each of the host websites displaying at least one link associated with a product or service of a third-party merchant, 2) on activation of this link by a website visitor, automatically identifies the host, and 3) instructs an Internet web server of an âout-source providerâ to construct and serve to the visitor a new, hybrid web page that merges content associated with the products of the third-party merchant with the stored âvisually perceptible elementsâ from the identified host website. See supra 5. In more plain language, upon the click of an advertisement for a third-party product displayed on a hostâs website, the visitor is no longer transported to the third partyâs website. Instead, the patent claims call for an âoutsource providerâ having a web server which directs the visitor to an automatically-generated hybrid web page that combines visual âlook and feelâ elements from the host website and product information from the third-party merchantâs website related to the clicked advertisement. 5 In this way, rather than instantly *1258 losing visitors to the third-partyâs website, the host website can instead send its visitors to a web page on the outsource providerâs server that 1) incorporates âlook and feelâ elements from the host website, and 2) provides visitors with the opportunity to purchase products from âthe third-party merchant without actually entering that merchantâs website. The dissent suggests that the âstore within a storeâ concept, such as a warehouse store that contains a kiosk for selling a third-party partnerâs cruise vacation packages, is the pre-Internet analog of the '399 patentâs asserted claims. Dissenting Op. 1264. While that concept may have been well-known by the relevant timeframe, that practice did not have to account for the ephemeral nature of an Internet âlocationâ or the near-instantaneous transport between these locations made possible by standard Internet communication protocols, which introduces a problem that does not arise in the âbrick and mortarâ context. In particular, once a customer enters a physical warehouse store, that customer may encounter a kiosk selling third-party cruise vacation packages. There is, however, no possibility that by walking up to this kiosk, the customer will be suddenly and completely transported outside the warehouse store and relocated to a separate physical venue associated with the third-party â the analog of what ordinarily occurs in âcyberspaceâ after the simple click of a hyperlink â where that customer could purchase a cruise package without any indication that they were previously browsing the aisles of the warehouse store, and without any need to âreturnâ to the aisles of the store after completing the purchase. It is this challenge of retaining control over the attention of the customer in the context of the Internet that the '399 patentâs claims address. We caution, however, that not all claims purporting to address Internet-centric challenges are eligible for patent. For example, in our recently-decided Ultramercial opinion, the patentee argued that its claims were âdirected to a specific method of advertising and content distribution that was previously unknown and never employed on the Internet before.â 772 F.3d at 1264 . But this alone could not render its claims patent-eligible. In particular, we found the claims to merely recite the abstract idea of âoffering media content in exchange for viewing an advertisement,â along with âroutine additional steps such as updating an activity log, requiring a request from the consumer to view the ad, restrictions on public access, and use of the Internet.â Id. at 1265. The '399 patentâs claims are different enough in substance from those in Ultramercial because they do not broadly and generically claim âuse of the Internetâ to perform an abstract business practice (with insignificant added activity). Unlike the claims in Ultmmercial, the claims at issue here specify how interactions with the Internet are manipulated to yield a desired result â a result that overrides the routine and conventional sequence of events ordinarily triggered by the click of a hyperlink. Instead of the computer network operating in its normal, expected manner by sending the website visitor to *1259 the third-party website that appears to be connected with the clicked advertisement, the claimed system generates and directs the visitor to the above-described hybrid web page that presents product information from the third-party and visual âlook and feelâ elements from the host website. When the limitations of the '399 patentâs asserted claims are taken together as an ordered combination, the claims recite an invention that is not merely the routine or conventional use of the Internet. It is also clear that the claims at issue do not attempt to preempt every application of the idea of increasing sales by making two web pages look the same, or of any other variant suggested by NLG. Rather, they recite a specific way to automate the creation of a composite web page by an âoutsource providerâ that incorporates elements from multiple sources in order to solve a problem faced by websites on the Internet. As a result, the '399 patentâs claims include âadditional featuresâ that ensure the claims are âmore than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the [abstract idea].â Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2357. In short, the claimed solution amounts to an inventive concept for resolving this particular Internet-centric problem, rendering the claims patent-eligible. In sum, the '399 patentâs claims are unlike the claims in Alice, Ultramercial, buySAFE, Accenture, and Bancorp that were found to be âdirected toâ little more than an abstract concept. To be sure, the '399 patentâs claims do not recite an invention as technologically complex as an improved, particularized method of digital data compression. But nor do they recite a commonplace business method aimed at processing business information, applying a known business process to the particular technological environment of the Internet, or creating or altering contractual relations using generic computer functions and conventional network operations, such as the claims in Alice, Ultramercial, buySAFE, Accenture, and Bancorp. The claimed system, though used by businesses, is patent-eligible under § 101. 6 The district court did not err in denying NLGâs motion for JMOL of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as to these claims. C. Indefiniteness In its motion for JMOL of invalidity, NLG also sought to invalidate the asserted claims of the '572 and '399 patents on the ground that the terms âlook and feelâ and âvisually perceptible elementsâ render the claims indefinite because they are impermissibly subjective and fail to notify the public of the bounds of the claimed invention. 7 On appeal, NLG contends that the district court erred by denying its motion. We disagree. Since the '572 patentâs asserted claims are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a), we need not decide NLGâs indefiniteness challenge to the patent based on the term âlook and feel.â We thus focus our analysis on the term âvisually perceptible elementsâ in the '399 patentâs asserted *1260 claims. The parties stipulated to a construction of the term as â âlook and feelâ elements that can be seen.â J.A. 542. NLG argues that the term âis effectively the same as âlook and feel description,â â and therefore lacks definiteness for the same reasons. Appellantâs Br. 30 n.12. Indefiniteness is a question of law we review de novo. Wellman, Inc. v. Eastman Chem. Co., 642 F.3d 1355, 1365-66 (Fed.Cir.2011). The definiteness requirement is set forth in 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 2, which states that â[t]he specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.â The definiteness requirement focuses on whether âa patentâs claims, viewed in light of the specification and prosecution history, inform those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty.â Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., â U.S. ---, 134 S.Ct. 2120, 2129 , 189 L.Ed.2d 37 (2014). The inquiry âtrains on the understanding of a skilled artisan at the time of the patent application.â Id. at 2130 . When a claim term âdepend[s] solely on the unrestrained, subjective opinion of a particular individual purportedly practicing the invention,â without sufficient guidance in the specification to provide objective direction to one of skill in the art, the term is indefinite. Datamize, LLC v. Plumtree Software, Inc., 417 F.3d 1342, 1350 (Fed.Cir.2005) (finding âaesthetically pleasingâ to be indefinite because the specification lacked any objective definition of the term). For some facially subjective terms, the definiteness requirement is not satisfied by merely offering examples that satisfy the term within the specification. See Interval Licensing LLC v. AOL, Inc., 766 F.3d 1364, 1371-73 (Fed.Cir.2014) (finding a single example of the term âunobtrusive mannerâ in the specification did not outline the claims to a skilled artisan with reasonable certainty). For other terms like, for example, terms of degree, specific and unequivocal examples may be sufficient to provide a skilled artisan with clear notice of what is claimed. See Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Applera Corp., 599 F.3d 1325, 1334-35 (Fed.Cir.2010) (finding the phrase ânot interfering substantiallyâ to be definite where intrinsic evidence provided multiple examples that would allow a skilled artisan to determine whether a particular chemical bond linkage group would âinterfere] substantiallyâ with hybridization). Here, though NLG attempts to characterize âlook and feelâ as purely subjective, the evidence demonstrates that âlook and feelâ had an established, sufficiently objective meaning in the art, and that the '399 patent used the term consistent with that meaning. The specification explains that âthe look and feel is captured by selecting an example page [from] the host, retrieving the sample page from the host, identifying the look and feel elements from the sample page and saving the identified look and feel elements.â '399 patent, 13:5-9. âLook and feel elementsâ are described as âincluding] logos, colors, page layout, navigation systems, frames, âmouse-overâ effects, or other elements that are consistent through some or all of a Hostâs website.â Id. at 13:9-12. DDRâs expert on infringement testified that a skilled artisan would interpret these âother elementsâ as elements such as headers, footers, fonts, and images. J.A. 3584. These examples are consistent with the established meaning of the term âlook and feelâ in the art, as demonstrated by Digital Riverâs own evidence at trial. For example, as discussed in Section II. A., Digital River advertised its prior art SSS as generating composite web pages that dis *1261 played third-party merchandise but also replicated the â âlook and feelâ of the [host websiteâs] identity.â J.A. 6123. Digital River also explained that the composite web pages generated by its SSS âretained] the look and feel of the [hostâs web]site.â J.A. 6202. At trial, Digital River conceded that it understood the meaning of âlook and feel.â J.A. 4146-47 (âQ. And Digital River understood what it meant when it said: weâll match your look and feel, right? A. Yes, sir.â). Digital River also admitted that its customers understood the meaning of âlook and feel.â J.A. 4199 (âQ.... [S]omebody who is reading Digital Riverâs [advertising] document should understand what Digital River means when it says matching look and feel, right? ... A. Yes, sir.â). In sum, âlook and feelâ is not a facially subjective term like âunobtrusive mannerâ in Interval or âaesthetically pleasingâ in Datamize. Rather, as demonstrated by Digital Riverâs own advertisements for its prior art SSS and its admissions at trial, the term had an established meaning in the art by the relevant timeframe. The examples of âlook and feelâ elements disclosed in the specification are consistent with the termâs established meaning. In short, the term âvisually perceptible elements,â or â âlook and feelâ elements that can be seen,â viewed in light of the specification and prosecution history, informed those skilled in the art about the scope of the '399 patentâs claims with reasonable certainty. The district court did not err by denying NLGâs motion for JMOL of invalidity of the '399 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 2. D. Infringement NLG also contends that the district court erred by denying its motion for JMOL of noninfringement as to both the '572 and '399 patents. Since the '572 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a), we address only NLGâs noninfringement appeal of the '399 patent. We find, as did the district court, that the jury was presented with substantial evidence on which to base its finding that NLG infringes the asserted claims of the '399 patent. NLG argues that the juryâs finding that NLGâs accused websites satisfy the âvisually perceptible elementsâ limitation of the asserted claims is unsupported. NLG further argues that DDR failed to introduce evidence that NLGâs accused system automatically identifies or recognizes the source web page as required by claims 1 and 19 of the '399 patent. NLG also argues that DDR only showed the jury screenshot images of the accused web-sites running NLGâs e-commerce system on a single day, and thus did not provide evidence of NLGâs alleged infringement throughout the entire damages period. The record tells a different tale. For the âvisually perceptible elementsâ limitation, the jury viewed screenshot images from nine NLG-partner host websites and their corresponding accused NLG-operated composite web pages. DDRâs expert on infringement also presented the jury with lists of the âlook and feel elementsâ from each host website allegedly incorporated in a corresponding NLG-generated composite web page and opined that the accused composite web pages satisfied the limitation. The jury was free to use this proffered evidence and testimony to form its own conclusions as to whether NLGâs accused composite web pages satisfied the âvisually perceptible elementsâ limitation of the asserted claims. As for the other contested limitations of the '399 patentâs asserted claims, DDRâs expert on infringement testified that on activation of a link on an NLG-partner host website corresponding to an NLG-generated composite web page, a keyword *1262 identifier is sent to NLGâs e-commerce web server (e.g., âOBWEBâ for Orbitzâs host website), and a processor therein determines the location and identity of the host website (e.g., Orbitz). The jury was free to credit this testimony as evidence that NLGâs accused e-commeree system âautomatically ... recognizfes]â or âautomatically identifies]â the source page âon which the link has been activated.â NLGâs argument that DDR provided the jury with screenshot images of NLGâs accused composite web pages â and thus evidence of infringement â for only one day appears to be more relevant to damages than to infringement. Regardless, NLGâs contention is without merit. DDRâs expert testified that he had examined NLGâs accused system throughout the entire period of alleged infringement, including any changes in its software source code, deposition testimony on its operation, and, via the Internet Archive, prior versions of accused composite web pages. Based on his review, DDRâs expert testified that nothing about NLGâs accused system âhad changed in any substantial wayâ during this period. J.A. 3751-52. Substantial evidence supports the juryâs finding that NLGâs accused system infringes the '399 patent, and thus the district court did not err in denying NLGâs motion for JMOL of noninfringement. E. Damages DDR sought $6.04 million in damages for NLGâs infringement of the '572 and '399 patents; NLG countered with $375,000. The parties agreed on a verdict form that instructed the jury to award a single sum to compensate DDR for NLGâs infringement of the asserted claims found to be infringed and not invalid. J.A. 3080. The jury awarded DDR $750,000 in damages for NLGâs infringement, without specifying how this award was apportioned between the '572 and the '399 patents. Because we find the '572 patent invalid as anticipated, we vacate the damages award. This could warrant a new trial on damages. See Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Vonage Holdings Corp., 503 F.3d 1295, 1310 (Fed.Cir.2007). NLG did not, however, move for a new trial under FRCP 59 and may not have preserved its recourse to this option. DDR Holdings, 954 F.Supp.2d at 522 (âInterestingly however, NLG does not move for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59.â). We remand to the district court to determine the effect â if any â of our invalidation of the '572 patent on the juryâs damages award. 8 F. Prejudgment Interest The district court also awarded DDR prejudgment interest. NLG contends that DDR should not be' entitled to any prejudgment interest because it is a non-practicing entity and at a minimum, DDR should not be entitled to any prejudgment interest during a four-year stay in litigation since the stay was the result of DDRâs request for ex parte reexamination of the '135 and '572 patents. We review the district courtâs award of prejudgment interest for an abuse of discretion. See Telcordia Techs., Inc. v. Cisco Sys., Inc., 612 F.3d 1365, 1377 (Fed.Cir.2010); see also Gen. Motors Corp. v. Devex Corp., 461 U.S. 648, 657 , 103 S.Ct. 2058 , 76 L.Ed.2d 211 (1983) (â[A] decision to award prejudgment interest will only be *1263 set aside if it constitutes an abuse of discretion.â). Under 35 U.S.C. § 284 , after a finding of infringement, the court âshall award ... damages ... together with interest and costs.â (emphases added). Prejudgment interest should ordinarily be awarded absent some justification for withholding such an award. Gen. Motors, 461 U.S. at 657 , 103 S.Ct. 2058 ; see also Energy Transp. Grp., Inc. v. William Demant Holding A/S, 697 F.3d 1342, 1358 (Fed.Cir.2012) (âThe award of pre-judgment interest is the rule, not the exception.â) (quotation and citation omitted). NLG cites no case law suggesting that prevailing non-practicing entities are not entitled to prejudgment interest. We decline to create such a statutory exception. See Energy Transp., 697 F.3d at 1358 (âThe district court did not abuse its discretion in this case by following the standard rule of awarding pre-judgment interest.â). However, since the '572 patent is invalid, the district court must recalculate its award of prejudgment interest so that it is tied solely to NLGâs infringement of the '399 patent, which issued in 2010, more than four years after issuance of the '572 patent. Nickson Indus., Inc. v. Rol Mfg. Co., 847 F.2d 795, 800 (Fed.Cir.1988) (âGenerally, prejudgment interest should be awarded from the date of infringement to the date of judgment.â). Since the '399 patent did not issue until after the stay was lifted in 2010, we need not determine whether DDR is entitled to prejudgment interest during the pendency of the contested stay. We have considered the partiesâ remaining arguments and find them unpersuasive. III. Conclusion In large part, we affirm the district court. The asserted claims of the '572 patent, however, are anticipated by Digital Riverâs prior art Secure Sales System under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (a), and no substantial evidence supports the juryâs contrary finding. As such, the district court erred in denying defendantsâ motion for JMOL of invalidity as to the '572 patent. We vacate the award of damages and prejudgment interest to DDR based on NLGâs infringement of the '572 and '399 patents and remand to the district court in order to determine the damages and prejudgment interest attributable solely to NLGâs infringement of the '399 patent. AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED Costs No costs. . Paragraph 2 of 35 U.S.C. § 112 was replaced with newly designated § 112(b) when § 4(c) of the America Invents Act (AIA), Pub.L. No. 112-29, took effect on September - 16, 2012. Because the applications resulting in the patents at issue in this case were filed before that date, we will refer to the pre-AIA version of § 112. . Even though Digital River terminated its appeal prior to oral argument, it did not do so until after the parties had fully completed their briefing. In its own briefs, although only in footnotes, NLG incorporated by reference Digital River's arguments on anticipation. Appellantâs Br. 43 n.23; Appellantâs Reply Br. 9 n.5. In a consolidated case such as here, Rule 28(i) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP) permits "any party [to] adopt by reference a part of anotherâs brief.â See, e.g., Pozen Inc. v. Par Pharm. Inc., 696 F.3d 1151 , 1159 n. 3 (Fed.Cir.2012); Aventis Pharma Deutschland GmbH v. Lupin, Ltd., 499 F.3d 1293 , 1294 n. 1 (Fed.Cir.2007). Compare Microsoft Corp. v. DataTern, Inc., 755 F.3d 899 , 910-(Fed.Cir.2014) (co-parties in non-consolidated appeals cannot use incorporation pursuant to FRAP 28(i) to exceed word count limits prescribed by FRAP 32(a)(7)). DDR implicitly concedes that NLG has adequately adopted Digital Riverâs anticipation defense as to the '572 patent, acknowledging that "[NLG] did not adopt Digital Riverâs anticipation defense or seek to extend it to prove anticipation of the '399 patent, which has claims containing extra elements not found in the asserted claims of the '572 patent.â Appellee's Br. 44 n.10 (emphasis added). . Neither Digital River nor NLG ever argued that the '399 patent is invalid as anticipated by or obvious over prior art. We decline to speculate whether Digital Riverâs prior art SSS, either alone or in combination with other prior art, invalidates the '399 patent under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 or 103. . The parties do not dispute that the asserted system and method claims of the '399 patent, for the purposes of § 101, are no different in substance. See Appellee Br. 63; Appellant Br. 24. Thus, the form of the asserted claims (system or method) does not affect our analysis of their patent eligibility. See Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2360 . . On a fundamental level, the creation of new compositions and products based on combining elements from different sources has long *1258 been a basis for patentable inventions. See, e.g., Parks v. Booth, 102 U.S. 96, 102 , --- S.Ct. ---, 26 L.Ed. 54 (1880) ("Modern inventions very often consist merely of a new combination of old elements or devices, where nothing is or can be claimed except the new combination."); KSR Intâl Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 418-19 , 127 S.Ct. 1727 , 167 L.Ed.2d 705 (2007) ("[I]nventions in most, if not all, instances rely upon building blocks long since uncovered, and claimed discoveries almost of necessity will be combinations of what, in some sense, is already known.â). . Of course, patent-eligible does not mean patentable under, e.g., 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103. As discussed in footnote 3 supra, the patentability of the '399 patentâs asserted claims is not before us. . Though NLG contended that the term "look and feelâ is indefinite before the district court, on appeal NLG shifts its focus to "look and feel description." "Look and feelâ and âlook and feel description,â while related, are recited as separate terms within the asserted claims. E.g., '572 patent, claim 13 ("... a look and feel based on the look and feel description in the data store ... â). NLG provides no explanation or justification for its shift in focus. As does DDR in its briefing, we focus our analysis on the term âlook and feel.â . We note that NLG's contention that the jury's damages award was "grossly excessiveâ because its accused websites infringed for only one day is based on a flawed premise and is without merit. As the district court explained, NLG cannot attempt to "reverse engineer the juryâs math ... and use its substituted, and purely speculative, analysis to call the award excessive.â DDR Holdings, 954 F.Supp.2d at 530 .
[[COURTLISTENER_SUBOPINION {"id":"9805063","type":"040dissent","part":"dissent","author":"Mayer","source_field":"html_with_citations"}]]
MAYER, Circuit Judge, dissenting. I respectfully dissent. The claims asserted by DDR Holdings, LLC (âDDRâ) fall outside 35 U.S.C. § 101 because they simply describe an abstract concept â that an online merchantâs sales can be increased if two web pages have the same âlook and feelâ â and apply that concept using a generic computer. I. The common specification of DDRâs patents notes that an online merchant will often lose customers when those customers click on an advertisement from a third-party vendor that has been displayed on the original merchantâs web page. See U.S. Patent No. 6,993,572 (the â'572 patentâ) col.2 11.30-33. The specification explains, however, that the original merchant could potentially avoid âthe loss of hard-won visitor traffic,â id. col.2 11.64-65, if he were able to dupe customers into believing that they were still on the merchantâs web page even when they were actually viewing goods from a third-party vendor, id. col.2 *1264 11.26-65. Notably, though, DDRâs patents are very vague as to how this duping is to occur, indicating only that the web page of the original merchant and that of the third-party vendor should be made to look alike using âvisually perceptible elements.â -See U.S. Patent No. 7,818,399 (the â'399 patentâ) col.28 11.31-32 (requiring the use of a âplurality of visually perceptible elenients visually corresponding to the [original merchantâs web] pageâ). DDRâs patents fail to meet the demands of section 101 because they describe a goal â confusing consumers by making two web pages look alike â but disclose no new technology, or âinventive concept,â Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., â U.S. ---, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1294 , 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012), for achieving that goal. See OâReilly v. Morse, 56 U.S. (15 How.) 62, 120 , 14 L.Ed. 601 (1854) (rejecting a claim which covered âan effect produced by the use of electro-magnetism distinct from the process or machinery necessary to produce itâ); In re Brooks, 24 CCPA 1203, 90 F.2d 106, 107-08 (1937) (âIt is for the discovery or invention of some practicable method or means of producing a beneficial result or effect, that a patent is granted, and not for the result or effect itself.â (emphasis added) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)). DDRâs patents are long on obfuscation but short on substance. Indeed, much of what they disclose is so rudimentary that it borders on the comical. For example, the patents explain that two web pages are likely to look alike if they are the same color, have the same page layout, and display the same logos. See '572 patent col. 14 11.5-18. The recited computer limitations, moreover, are merely generic. The claims describe use of a âdata store,â a âweb page having a link,â and a âcomputer processor,â id. eol.29 11.1-13, all conventional elements long-used in e-commerce. Because DDRâs claims, like those at issue in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International, âsimply instruct the practitioner to implement [an] abstract idea ... on a generic computer,â they do not meet section 101. - U.S. ---, 134 S.Ct. 2347 , 2359, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014); see id. at 2360 (rejecting claims requiring a âdata processing systemââ with a âcommunications controllerâ and a âdata storage unitâ as âpurely functional and genericâ (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)); Accenture Global Servs., GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc., 728 F.3d 1336, 1344 (Fed.Cir.2013) (rejecting claims requiring âa combination of computer components including an insurance transaction database, a task library database, a elient component, and a server component, which include[d] an -event processor, a task engine, and a task assistantâ). II. The court concludes that the asserted claims of DDRâs '399 patent fall within section 101 because âthey do not merely recite the performance of some business practice known from the pre-Internet world along with the requirement to perform it on the Internet.â Ante at 1257. This is incorrect. DDRâs claims do, in fact, simply take a well-known and widely-applied business practice and apply it using a generic computer and the Internet. The idea of having a âstore within a storeâ was in widespread use well before the dawn of e-commerce. For example, National Leisure Group, Inc. (âNLGâ), one of the defendants here, previously âsold vacations at ... BJâs Wholesale Clubs through point of purchase displays in the 45 BJâs Clubs along the Eastern Seaboard.â Br. of Defendants-Appellants National Leisure Group, Inc. and World Travel Holdings, Inc. at 4. DDRâs patents are directed to the same concept. Just as visitors to BJâs Wholesale Clubs could purchase trav *1265 el products from NLG without leaving the BJâs warehouse, the claimed system permits a person to purchase goods from a third-party vendor, but still have the visual âimpression that she is viewing pages served by the [original host merchant].â '399 patent col.3 11.23-24; see ante at 1264 (explaining that DDRâs claimed system âpermits a website visitor, in a sense, to be in two places at the same timeâ). Indeed, any doubt as to whether the claimed system is merely an Internet iteration of an established business practice is laid to rest by the fact that one of the named inventors acknowledged that the innovative aspect of his claimed invention was â[t]aking something that worked in the real world and doing it on the Internet.â J.A. 03208. Alice articulated a technological arts test for patent eligibility. 134 S.Ct. at 2359 (explaining that the claimed method fell outside section 101 because it did not âimprove the functioning of the computer itselfâ or âeffect an improvement in any other technology or technical fieldâ). Here, the court correctly recognizes Aliceâs technological arts standard, but applies it in a deficient manner. According to the court, DDRâs claims fall within section 101 because the âsolutionâ they offer âis necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks.â Ante at 1257 (emphasis added). The solution offered by DDRâs claims, however, is not rooted in any new computer technology. Its patents address the problem of preventing online merchants from losing âhard-won visitor traffic,â '572 patent col.2 11.64-65, and the solution they offer is an entrepreneurial, rather than a technological, one. DDR has admitted that it did not invent any of the generic computer elements disclosed in its claims. J.A. 3311-16. There is no dispute, moreover, that at the time of the claimed invention the use of hyperlinks to divert consumers to particular web pages was a well-understood and widely-used technique. See '399 patent col.l 11.29-52. While DDRâs patents describe the potential advantages of making two web pages look alike, they do not disclose any non-conventional technology for capturing the âlook and feelâ of a host website or for giving two web pages a similar appearance. See Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2360 (â[W]hat petitioner characterizes as specific hardware ... is purely functional and generic.â); Accenture, 728 F.3d at 1345 (rejecting claims that contained no âdetailed software implementation guidelinesâ). DDRâs patents fall outside section 101 because they simply âtak[e] existing informationâ â the visual appearance of a host merchantâs website â and use conventional technology to âorganiz[e] this information into a new form.â Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Elecs, for Imaging, Inc., 758 F.3d 1344, 1351 (Fed.Cir.2014); see Mayo, 132 S.Ct. at 1298 (emphasizing that reciting âwell-understood, routine, [or] conventional activityâ does not impart patent eligibility). In concluding that DDRâs claims meet the demands of section 101, the court focuses on the fact that âthey recite a specific way to automate the creation of a composite web page____â Ante at 1259 (emphasis added). The Supreme Court, however, has emphatically rejected the idea that claims become patent eligible simply because they disclose a specific solution to a particular problem. See Bilski v. Kappos, 561 U.S. 593, 599-601 , 130 S.Ct. 3218 , 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010) (concluding that claims fell outside section 101 notwithstanding the fact that they disclosed a very specific method of hedging against price increases); Parker v. Flook, 437 U.S. 584, 593 , 98 S.Ct. 2522 , 57 L.Ed.2d 451 (1978) (rejecting the argument âthat if a process application imple *1266 ments a principle in some specific fashion, it automatically falls within the patentable subject matter of § 101â). Indeed, although the claims at issue in Alice described a very specific method for conducting intermediated settlement, the Court nonetheless unanimously concluded that they fell outside section 101. 134 S.Ct. at 2358-60. Nor is the fact that the claims address an âInternetcentric problem,â ante at 1259, sufficient to render them patent eligible. The Supreme Court has repeatedly made clear that âlimiting the use of an abstract idea to a particular technological environmentâ is insufficient to confer patent eligibility. Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2360 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Mayo, 132 S.Ct. at 1294 ; Bilski, 561 U.S. at 610 , 130 S.Ct. 3218 . Accordingly, the fact that DDRâs system operates âin the context-of the Internet,â ante at 1258, does not bring it within patentable subject matter. The potential scope of DDRâs patents is staggering, arguably covering vast swaths of Internet commerce. DDR has already brought infringement actions against ten defendants, including Digital River, Inc., Expedia, Inc., Travelocity.com, L.P., and Orbitz Worldwide, LLC. See J.A. 255-63; ante at 1250. DDRâs claims are patent ineligible because their broad and sweeping reach is vastly disproportionate to their minimal technological disclosure. See Mayo, 132 S.Ct. at 1303 (In assessing patent eligibility, âthe underlying functional concern ... is a relative one: how much future innovation is foreclosed relative to the contribution of the inventor.â). Alice made clear that claims untethered to any advance in science or technology do not pass muster under section 101. 134 S.Ct. at 2359. Viewed as a whole, DDRâs claims contain no more than an abstract idea for increasing sales implemented via âsome unspecified, generic computer,â id. at 2360. The inventive concept, if any, embedded in DDRâs claims is an idea for âretaining control over the attention of the customer,â ante at 1258. Because this purported inventive concept is an entrepreneurial rather than a technological one, DDRâs claims are not patentable.Case Information
- Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- Decision Date
- December 5, 2014
- Citation
- 773 F.3d 1245
- Status
- Precedential