E-Commerce and Software Litigation Saw the Most Alice Activity in Q3

A breakdown of district court Alice invalidation rates by market sector (specifically, by the RPX market sector assigned to the litigation in which the patents were asserted and then challenged under Alice) reveals the industries with the most Section 101 activity in 2021 through Q3. During that period, the E-Commerce and Software sector again saw the most Alice decisions on a per-patent basis, with 76 patents adjudicated and an invalidation rate of 64%. The Networking sector was in second place with 27 patents adjudicated, with a 59% invalidation rate. Third was the Consumer Electronics and PCs sector, with 20 patents adjudicated and a 60% invalidation rate.

Meanwhile, courts ruled on the eligibility of just seven patents asserted in Media Content and Distribution litigation, with five held invalid (or 71%). Sectors with even fewer challenges decided included Automotive, with four patents all surviving Alice; four patents asserted in the Industrial space also held to be not unpatentable; two of three Consumer Products patents both invalidated; and one Financial Services patent ruled to be invalid.

For more on Alice, including the ongoing debate over Section 101 as well as further analysis of patent eligibility data, see RPX Insight.