On November 6, 2018, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that certain elements of three patents owned by Acceleration Bay LLC are invalid. The patents are directed to a broadcast technique in which a broadcast channel overlays a point-to point communications network. Activision, Electronic Arts Inc., and other video game companies petitioned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to cancel Acceleration Bay LLC’s patents after Acceleration sued them for infringement.

The board held parts of the patents invalid, and the Federal circuit agreed, stating that the board correctly found that the claim terms “game environment” and “information delivery service” didn’t limit the scope of the patents because they merely described intended use of the patents. The court also said the board properly determined that prior art didn’t render other elements of the patents obvious.