EIT Holdings Goes After LinkedIn ... AGAIN.

We reported last December that EIT Holdings, LLC ("EIT") sued several Web 2.0 companies, including Yelp! and LinkedIn for infringing the seemingly broadest claims (40 and 41) of US Pat. No. 5,828,837.  The lawsuit was derailed earlier this month when Judge Alsup (N.D. Cal) dismissed the case against all defendants except the first named defendant and invited EIT to refile against each Defendant in a separate action.  EIT accepted the  invitation and refiled separate complaints against each of the defendants, including the one that made a lot of people rich last week, LinkedIn.

Our analysis of claims 40 and 41 remains the same as discussed in our earlier report.  However, in addition to the difficulties raised by the "user report" limitation,  EIT may have other problems.  Here's a comment from one of our readers:

[T]he weakness in claim 40 is the use of means-plus-function elements.
Since those steps are performed by a computer, the spec must describe an *algorithm* for each of the functions, under Aristocrat/WMS Gaming. 

For example, take just one of the elements of claim 40:  means for registering a first-time user of the computer network;
The spec must describe *how* to register the user.  A restatement of the function will not do. Nor will a single step in a flow chart labeled "register".  You need some *details* about how the registering is performed. The argument that a POSITA understands how to perform the registering will not do.  I took a brief look at the spec, and didn't see anything that looks like an algorithm for registering. 

Plus, there are *11* means-plus-function elements. All 11 must have an algorithm in the spec.

To date, it appears that a reexamination request has not been filed against the '837 patent.  However, this might change depending on the results of the Article One Partners  hunt.  Check it out.  I guess that we'll just have to wait and see.