O2 Media, LLC v. Narrative Science Inc., No. 15 C 5129, Slip Op. (N.D. Ill. Jan. 3, 2017) (Tharp, J.).

Judge Tharp denied defendant Narrative Sciences’ 35 U. S.C. § 285 motion to make the case exceptional after using a motion to dismiss in this patent case.

The Court previously held that O2 Media’s patent claims were unpatentable software pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 101 and Alice. While some courts have found pursuing software patent claims objectively unreasonable, that was not the case for O2 Media’s claims. O2 Media advanced five arguments, albeit, all unsuccessful. But O2 Media’s arguments were plausible, if wrong. The Court also refused to make the case exceptional because of noninfringement arguments that the Court never ruled upon.

O2 Media’s $1M+ settlement demand was also not evidence of an exceptional case. It just showed that O2 Media placed a high value on its patent.