Google Escapes Final Claim in Targeted Advertising Patent Suit

Google LLC dodged a claim that it infringed a targeted advertising patent, as a federal judge for the US District Court for the District of Delaware ruled the patent invalid.

Judge Gregory B. Williams ruled the 25th claim from B.E. Technology LLC’s US Patent No. 8,769,440—the only patent claim still part of the litigation—covered an abstract idea not eligible for patent protection under Section 101 of the Patent Act.

Williams said the claim failed under the US Supreme Court’s two-step test limiting patent protection for abstract ideas.

At step one, he said the claim “is directed to the abstract ...