Post-Alice Decision on Software Patents, Ultramercial Inc. v. Hulu LLC, Federal Circuit 2014
Ultramercial sued Hulu, YouTube, and WildTangent in 2009 for infringement of a patent related to distributing copyrighted material over the Internet to a consumer at no cost in exchange for viewing an advertisement, with the advertiser paying for the copyrighted material.
WildTangent filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that the claims were not statutory under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The district court granted the motion. The Federal Circuit reversed. The Supreme Court vacated the decision and
remanded for consideration in view of its decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. A unanimous panel of the Federal Circuit again held the claims to be statutory. WildTangent petitioned for Supreme Court review. The Supreme Court again vacated the Federal Circuit’s decision and remanded for consideration in view of its…