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`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 1 of 40
`
`Stuart G. Gross (#251019)
`sgross@grosskleinlaw.com
`George A. Croton (#323766)
`gcroton@grosskleinlaw.com
`Timothy S. Kline (#319227)
`tk@grosskleinlaw.com
`GROSS & KLEIN LLP
`The Embarcadero
`Pier 9, Suite 100
`San Francisco, CA 94111
`Telephone: (415) 671-4628
`Facsimile:
`(415) 480-6688
`
`
`
`Counsel for Plaintiff Express Mobile, Inc.
`
`
`
`Steven F. Molo (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`smolo@mololamken.com
`Benoit Quarmby (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`bquarmby@mololamken.com
`Leonid Grinberg (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`lgrinberg@mololamken.com
`MOLOLAMKEN LLP
`430 Park Avenue
`New York, NY 10022
`Telephone: (212) 607-8160
`Facsimile:
`(212) 607-8161
`
`Rayiner I. Hashem (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`rhashem@mololamken.com
`Sarah J. Newman (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`snewman@mololamken.com
`Benjamin T. Sirolly (pro hac vice forthcoming)
`bsirolly@mololamken.com
`MOLOLAMKEN LLP
`The Watergate, Suite 500
`600 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.
`Washington, D.C. 20037
`Telephone: (202) 556-2000
`Facsimile:
`(202) 556-2001
`
`
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
`
`SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
`
`Case No.
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT
`INFRINGEMENT
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`EXPRESS MOBILE, INC.,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`
`
`v.
`
`
`OATH HOLDINGS, INC., d/b/a
`VERIZON MEDIA GROUP, f/k/a YAHOO!,
`
`Defendant.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 2 of 40
`
`
`
`Plaintiff Express Mobile, Inc. (“Express Mobile” or “Plaintiff”), for its complaint against
`
`Defendant Oath Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Verizon Media Group, f/k/a Yahoo! (“Yahoo!” or “Defendant”),
`
`alleges the following:
`
`NATURE OF THE ACTION
`
`1.
`
`This is an action for patent infringement arising under the patent laws of the United
`
`States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`2.
`
`Express Mobile is an inventor-owned corporation organized under the laws of the State
`
`of Delaware with a place of business at 38 Washington Street, Novato, CA 94947.
`
`3.
`
`Oath Holdings, Inc., d/b/a Verizon Media Group, is a corporation organized under the
`
`laws of the State of Delaware and is a resident of this District with a place of business at 701 First
`
`Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. It can be served through its registered agent in California, CT
`
`Corporation System, 818 West Seventh Street, Suite 930, Los Angeles, CA 90017.
`
`4.
`
`Yahoo! offers services throughout the United States, including in this judicial District,
`
`and introduces services into the stream of commerce that incorporate infringing technology knowing
`
`that those services would be used in this judicial District and elsewhere in the United States.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`5.
`
`6.
`
`This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).
`
`This Court has personal jurisdiction over Yahoo! because it has purposefully availed
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`itself of the rights and benefits of the laws of this State and this District. Yahoo! resides in the
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`Northern District of California by maintaining a regular and established place of business at 701 First
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`Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. This Court also has personal jurisdiction over Yahoo! because it has
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`done, and is doing, substantial business in this District, both generally and with respect to the
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`allegations in this complaint, including Yahoo!’s one or more acts of infringement in this District.
`
`7.
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`Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b) and (c) and 1400(b). Yahoo!
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`has committed acts of infringement through provision of its website builder in the Northern District of
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`California and has at least one regular and established place of business in this District, specifically 701
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`First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. Yahoo!’s office in Sunnyvale is a physical place in the District, it
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`2
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 3 of 40
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`is an established location where Yahoo!’s business has been carried out for years, and Yahoo! publicly
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`advertises its presence in the District. See In re Cray, Inc., 871 F.3d 1355, 1360-61 (Fed. Cir. 2017).
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`8.
`
`Plaintiff Express Mobile is an innovator and leader in the business of developing mobile
`
`application and website design and creation platforms. Express Mobile is managed by individuals with
`
`many years of technology and business experience. The CEO of Express Mobile, Steve Rempell, is the
`
`inventor of the breakthrough technology held in Express Mobile’s patent portfolio. Mr. Rempell has
`
`over 50 years’ experience working in technology companies, with much of that experience focused on
`
`web-based technologies and applications.
`
`9.
`
`Before the Express Mobile invention at issue, webpages were created, stored, and
`
`rendered using code files that defined all the fixed parameters of the webpage, including, for example,
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`the formatting and location of text, or the location, size, and aspect ratio of images. Typically,
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`webpages could not be viewed during the creation process as they would later appear in the various
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`available browsers or on different devices, and each individual webpage of a website needed to be
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`stored as a separate file. The size and formatting of the stored files led to slow download times to the
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`user’s computer, increasing the wait time for a page to load.
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`10.
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`Express Mobile developed groundbreaking improvements in the process for creating,
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`storing, and building webpages and websites. Express Mobile’s invention enables defining the
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`webpage as a collection of user settings, storing information related to those settings in a database, and
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`then later using that information to render a webpage. The page can be viewed, as it is created or
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`edited, in the same manner that it would appear on different types of screens when later accessed. The
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`result is not a collection of computer code, but instead a group of user-selected objects and settings
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`describing the final webpage. These objects and settings can be saved in a database for ease of access
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`and efficient storage. The invention allows faster loading speeds and permits more efficient storage of
`
`the data used to later build the webpages. It also makes changing the webpage more efficient through
`
`editing user settings rather than editing multiple lines or versions of code.
`
`11.
`
`Defendant Yahoo! offers a wide array of services to consumers and businesses. Those
`
`services include Yahoo! Small Business, which helps small and medium-sized businesses develop
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`3
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 4 of 40
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`websites and e-commerce stores without the need for trained web developers. Yahoo! Small Business
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`allows users to customize a webpage using a menu of settings that control the placement of elements
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`such as buttons, headers, and forms. Selection of specific menu items will correspondingly update the
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`preview of the final page.
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`12.
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`For consumers, Yahoo! offers My Yahoo! – customized home pages (or “portal pages”)
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`that can display web content of the user’s choosing, according to layouts specified by the user. My
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`Yahoo! contains menus allowing users to customize the appearance of their Yahoo! portal page. For
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`example, users can select various web content to be displayed at different locations on the portal page.
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`They can customize their portal page to include multiple “tabs,” each with different content. And they
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`can select settings controlling the appearance of the page, such as “theme” colors. The preview of the
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`final page is updated when different menu items are selected.
`
`COUNT I – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 6,546,397
`(My Yahoo!)
`
`13.
`
`The allegations set forth in the foregoing paragraphs 1 through 12 are incorporated into
`
`this First Claim for Relief.
`
`14.
`
`On April 8, 2003, U.S. Patent No. 6,546,397 (“the ’397 patent”), entitled Browser Based
`
`Web Site Generation Tool and Run Time Engine, was duly and legally issued by the United States
`
`Patent and Trademark Office. A true and correct copy of the ’397 patent is attached as Exhibit A.
`
`15.
`
`The claimed invention of the ’397 patent resolves technical problems related to website
`
`creation and generation. Prior to the invention taught and disclosed in the ’397 patent, webpages were
`
`generally created, stored, and rendered either by programming directly in HTML, CSS,1 or JavaScript
`
`code, or by using a visual editor that produced HTML files. The result was a collection of pages of
`
`computer code – typically HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or Java applets – which defined the visual layout,
`
`style, and business logic of websites.
`
`16.
`
`Conventional website creation and generation methods suffered from many flaws.
`
`Creating a webpage could be cumbersome. Webpages could not be viewed throughout the creation
`
`
`1 CSS, or “Cascading Style Sheets,” is a programming language designed to interoperate with HTML
`to specify the appearance and placement of web elements.
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`4
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 5 of 40
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`process as they would later appear in various browsers or on different devices. Each individual
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`webpage of a website was stored as a separate HTML, CSS, or JavaScript file, which wasted computer
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`resources and required longer access times in the form of hard drive access while editing websites, and
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`in the form of network traffic while downloading them. Prior-art methods also led to slow
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`downloading of the webpage file to a user’s computer and slower rendering by the browser, which
`
`increased the wait time for a page to load.
`
`17.
`
`Unlike prior-art methods, the ’397 patent brings together disparate ideas and concepts
`
`for creating, storing, and building webpages. The Express Mobile invention at issue defines webpages
`
`as combinations of user-selected objects and settings stored in a database, rather than as combinations
`
`of computer code. Because code files do not need to be stored, the page structure – the vast majority of
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`the HTML code itself – is created on the fly each time the page is loaded in a user browser. This
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`unconventional step of building the webpage HTML code on the fly is performed by the run time
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`engine of the invention, using data representative of the user settings. This allows the system to
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`optimize the page based on device-specific information, including the operating system, browser, and
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`screen size. Moreover, the process of defining the webpages is done through a “What You See Is What
`
`You Get” or “WYSIWYG” environment, so that, as the page is created or edited, it can be viewed in
`
`the same manner it will appear on different types of screens when later accessed.
`
`18.
`
`Express Mobile’s patents are directed at a revolutionary technological solution to a
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`technological problem – how to create webpages for the Internet in a manner that permits “What You
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`See Is What You Get” editing, and a number of other improvements over the then-existing
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`methodologies. The claims are not drawn so broadly as to be divorced from the patent-eligible
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`technological improvements described in the specification.
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`19.
`
`The invention claimed in the ’397 patent is not merely the routine or conventional use of
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`website creation systems and methods. Rather, the invention enables the creation of websites through
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`browser-based visual editing tools such as selectable settings panels that describe website elements,
`
`with one or more settings corresponding to commands. The invention also enables retrieving that
`
`information to generate a website. Those features are implemented exclusively using computer
`
`technology, including using virtual machines.
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`5
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 6 of 40
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`20.
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`The invention claimed in the ’397 patent offers substantial improvements in computer
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`performance and web design. For example, the invention allows for faster loading speeds, more
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`efficient storage of webpage data, and the ability to change the webpage more efficiently by editing
`
`user settings rather than multiple versions of code. The invention also permits scaling of webpages and
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`elements within the webpage, to most efficiently use the screen space. Taken separately or together,
`
`the claim elements of the invention significantly improve the operation of a computer and the process
`
`of web design.
`
`21.
`
`The claims of the ’397 patent do not merely recite the performance of some business
`
`practice known from the pre-Internet world along with the requirement to perform it on the Internet.
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`Instead, the claims of the ’397 patent recite one or more inventive concepts that are rooted in
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`computerized website creation technology, and overcome problems specifically arising in the realm of
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`computerized website creation technologies.
`
`22.
`
`The invention claimed in the ’397 patent neither preempts all ways of using website or
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`webpage authoring tools nor preempts the use of all website or webpage authoring tools or any other
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`well-known or prior-art technology. Accordingly, each claim of the ’397 patent recites a combination
`
`of elements sufficient to ensure that the claim in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent on
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`an ineligible concept.
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`23.
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`Express Mobile is the assignee and owner of the right, title, and interest in and to the
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`’397 patent, including the right to assert all causes of action arising under that patent and the right to
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`any remedies for infringement of it.
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`24.
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`Yahoo! has manufactured, used, offered for sale, or sold browser-based website building
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`tools that infringed, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, the ’397 patent in violation of
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`35 U.S.C. § 271(a).
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`24
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`25.
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`Upon information and belief, Yahoo!’s My Yahoo! service has infringed at least claim 1
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`of the ’397 patent.
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`26.
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`Claim 1 of the ’397 patent recites a method to allow users to produce Internet websites
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`on and for computers having a browser and a virtual machine capable of generating displays, said
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`method comprising: (a) presenting a viewable menu having a user-selectable panel of settings
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`6
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 7 of 40
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`describing elements on a website, said panel of settings being presented through a browser on a
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`computer adapted to accept one or more of said selectable settings in said panel as inputs therefrom,
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`and where at least one of said user-selectable settings in said panel corresponds to commands to said
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`virtual machine; (b) generating a display in accordance with one or more user-selected settings
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`substantially contemporaneously with the selection thereof; (c) storing information representative of
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`said one or more user-selected settings in a database; (d) generating a website at least in part by
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`retrieving said information representative of said one or more user-selected settings stored in said
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`database; (e) building one or more webpages to generate said website from at least a portion of said
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`database and at least one run time file, where said one run time file uses information stored in said
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`database to generate virtual machine commands for the display of at least a portion of said one or more
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`webpages.
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`27. My Yahoo! infringed claim 1 of the ’397 patent. During the relevant time periods, My
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`Yahoo! practiced a method to allow users to produce portal pages, which are Internet websites on and
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`for computers having a browser and a virtual machine capable of generating displays.
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`28.
`
`By way of example, My Yahoo! presented a viewable menu displaying user-selectable
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`settings that allowed users to specify which elements they wanted to appear on their portal page.
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`Additional viewable menus controlled user-selectable settings controlling the appearance of individual
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`web elements. For example, a user could select how many headlines she wanted to be displayed in an
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`element that showed news clippings.
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`29.
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`By way of further example, My Yahoo! presented a viewable menu displaying user-
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`selectable settings that allowed users to specify the design of the portal page, including settings that
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`corresponded to the page’s background, the number of columns into which the elements on the portal
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`page were organized, and the font size of the text displayed in the elements.
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`30.
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`By way of further example, My Yahoo! presented a viewable menu of buttons that
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`allowed users to create or delete “tabs” on a portal page, essentially creating multiple separate portal
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`pages. By way of further example, My Yahoo! allowed users to click and drag elements on the portal
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`page, placing them in their desired locations on any of the available columns on any of the available
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`portal page tabs.
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`7
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 8 of 40
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`31.
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`Once a user selected any of these settings, My Yahoo! generated the portal page in
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`accordance with the selected settings substantially contemporaneously with the selection thereof. A
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`user could continue changing settings, and My Yahoo! would update accordingly.
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`32.
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`On information and belief, My Yahoo! stored all user-selected settings in a database.
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`33.
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`Those user-selectable settings corresponded to commands to a virtual machine. When a
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`setting was selected, My Yahoo! used it to generate code formatted in JavaScript Object Notation
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`(“JSON”). One or more run time files containing HTML and JavaScript code communicated with the
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`My Yahoo! web server to send and retrieve the encoded user-selected settings and thus generated the
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`portal page.
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`34.
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`By way of example, when a user first loaded My Yahoo!, the My Yahoo! web server
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`sent the run time files to the user’s web browser. The run time files then communicated with the My
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`Yahoo! web server to retrieve the user-selectable settings stored in the database, and used them to
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`generate virtual machine commands in the form of JSON code, which was sent to the web browser.
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`The web browser’s virtual machine executed the JSON code. That execution, in combination with the
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`commands in the run time files, generated the My Yahoo! portal page in accordance with the saved
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`settings.
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`35.
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`Yahoo! was made aware of the ’397 patent and its infringement thereof at least as early
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`as December 20, 2018, when Express Mobile provided notice of Yahoo!’s infringement of the ’397
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`patent.
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`36.
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`Upon information and belief, since at least the time Yahoo! received notice, Yahoo!
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`induced others to infringe at least claim 1 of the ’397 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) by, among other
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`things, and with specific intent or willful blindness, actively aiding and abetting others to infringe,
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`including but not limited to Yahoo!’s partners, clients, customers, and end users, whose use of My
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`Yahoo! constituted direct infringement of at least one claim of the ’397 patent. In particular, Yahoo!’s
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`actions that aided and abetted others such as customers, clients, partners, developers, and end users to
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`infringe included advertising My Yahoo! as a way for users to have a single place to access their most
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`important information on the Web. On information and belief, Yahoo! engaged in such actions with
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`specific intent to cause infringement or with willful blindness to the resulting infringement because
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`8
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`

`

`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 9 of 40
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`
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`Yahoo! had actual knowledge of the ’397 patent and knowledge that its acts were inducing
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`infringement of the ’397 patent since at least the date Yahoo! received notice that such activities
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`infringed the ’397 patent.
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`37.
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`By way of example, a page on Yahoo!’s website described My Yahoo! as a
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`“customizable,” “personalized page,” on which users “can choose how the format is laid out and what
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`types of content [they would] like to see.”
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`38.
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`Since December 20, 2018, and until expiration of the ’397 patent, Yahoo!’s
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`infringement of the ’397 patent has been willful.
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`39.
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`Yahoo!’s infringement has damaged and injured Express Mobile.
`
`COUNT II – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 6,546,397
`(Yahoo! Small Business)
`
`40.
`
`The allegations set forth in the foregoing paragraphs 1 through 39 are incorporated into
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`this Second Claim for Relief.
`
`41.
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`Yahoo! has manufactured, used, offered for sale, or sold browser-based website building
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`tools that infringed, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, one or more claims of the ’397
`
`patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(a).
`
`42.
`
`Upon information and belief, Yahoo!’s Small Business service has infringed at least
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`claim 1 of the ’397 patent.
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`43.
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`Yahoo! Small Business infringed claim 1 of the ’397 patent. During the relevant time
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`periods, Yahoo! Small Business practiced a method to allow users to produce Internet websites on and
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`for computers having a browser and a virtual machine capable of generating displays.
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`44.
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`By way of example, Yahoo! Small Business presented a viewable menu displaying user-
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`selectable settings that allowed users to specify which elements they wanted to appear on their
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`webpages. Additional viewable menus controlled user-selectable settings controlling the appearance of
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`individual web elements. For example, a user could decide to include a button on their website, and
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`afterwards could select the color of the button.
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`45.
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`By way of further example, Yahoo! Small Business presented a viewable menu
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`displaying user-selectable settings that allowed users to specify the design of the websites, including
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`

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`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 10 of 40
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`settings that corresponded to the page’s background, the number of sections webpages were organized
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`into, and the font of the text on the webpages. By way of further example, Yahoo! Small Business
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`allowed users to click and move elements appearing on the webpage, placing them in their desired
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`locations.
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`46.
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`Once a user selected any of these settings, Yahoo! Small Business updated the webpage
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`in accordance with the selected settings substantially contemporaneously with the selection thereof.
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`47.
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`On information and belief, Yahoo! Small Business stored user-selected settings in a
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`database.
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`48.
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`Those user-selectable settings corresponded to commands to a virtual machine. When a
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`setting was selected, Yahoo! Small Business used it to generate JSON code. One or more run time files
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`containing HTML and JavaScript code communicated with the Yahoo! Small Business web server to
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`send and retrieve the encoded user-selected settings and thus generated the webpage.
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`49.
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`By way of example, when a user first loaded Yahoo! Small Business, the Yahoo! Small
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`Business web server sent the run time files to the user’s web browser. The run time files then
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`communicated with the Yahoo! Small Business web server to retrieve the user-selectable settings
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`stored in the database, and used them to generate virtual machine commands in the form of JSON code,
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`which was sent to the web browser. The web browser’s virtual machine executed the JSON code. That
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`execution, in combination with the commands in the run time files, generated the website in accordance
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`with the saved settings.
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`50.
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`Yahoo! was made aware of the ’397 patent and its infringement thereof at least as early
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`as December 20, 2018, when Express Mobile provided notice of Yahoo!’s infringement of the ’397
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`patent.
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`51.
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`Upon information and belief, since at least the time Yahoo! received notice, Yahoo!
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`induced others to infringe at least claim 1 of the ’397 patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) by, among other
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`things, and with specific intent or willful blindness, actively aiding and abetting others to infringe,
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`including but not limited to Yahoo!’s partners, clients, customers, and end users, whose use of Yahoo!
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`Small Business constituted direct infringement of at least one claim of the ’397 patent. In particular,
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`Yahoo!’s actions that aided and abetted others such as customers, clients, partners, developers, and end
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`10
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 11 of 40
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`
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`users to infringe included advertising Yahoo! Small Business as a site-building tool for small
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`businesses. On information and belief, Yahoo! engaged in such actions with specific intent to cause
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`infringement or with willful blindness to the resulting infringement because Yahoo! had actual
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`knowledge of the ’397 patent and knowledge that its acts were inducing infringement of the ’397 patent
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`since at least the date Yahoo! received notice that such activities infringed the ’397 patent.
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`52.
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`By way of example, Yahoo! ran graphic advertisements on its website featuring
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`infringing features of Yahoo! Small Business. For example, Yahoo! advertised its service as a way to
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`“[c]reate a wow-worthy website in minutes,” adding “[j]ust pick your theme, personalize it and go
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`live.” The advertisement promised that “[i]t’s easy and there’s no coding required.”
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`53.
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`In a “Frequently Asked Questions” section of its website, Yahoo! explained that its
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`authoring tool “is an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop, website building tool.” It added that a “website will
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`be ready to go live in just minutes.”
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`54.
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`Since December 20, 2018, and until expiration of the ’397 patent, Yahoo!’s
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`infringement of the ’397 patent has been willful.
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`55.
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`Yahoo!’s infringement has damaged and injured Express Mobile.
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`COUNT III – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 7,594,168
`(Yahoo! Small Business)
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`56.
`
`The allegations set forth in the foregoing paragraphs 1 through 55 are incorporated into
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`this Third Claim for Relief.
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`57.
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`On September 22, 2009, U.S. Patent No. 7,594,168 (“the ’168 patent”), entitled Browser
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`Based Web Site Generation Tool and Run Time Engine, was duly and legally issued by the United
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`States Patent and Trademark Office. A true and correct copy of the ’168 patent is attached as Exhibit
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`B.
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`58.
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`The claimed invention of the ’168 patent resolves technical problems related to website
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`creation and generation. Prior to the invention taught and disclosed in the ’168 patent, webpages were
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`generally created, stored, and rendered either by programming directly in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript
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`code, or by using a visual editor that produced HTML files. The result was a collection of pages of
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`computer code – typically HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or Java applets – which defined the visual layout,
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 12 of 40
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`style and business logic of websites. While content (for example, photographs) for those sites could be
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`dropped into certain placeholders, the overall format and structure of the webpage was fixed, as defined
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`by the code.
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`59.
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`Conventional website creation and generation methods suffered from many flaws.
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`Creating a webpage could be cumbersome. Webpages could not be viewed throughout the creation
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`process as they would later appear in various browsers or on different devices. Also, each individual
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`webpage of a website was stored as a separate HTML, CSS, or JavaScript file, which wasted computer
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`resources and required longer access times in the form of hard drive access while editing websites and
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`in the form of network traffic while downloading them. Prior-art methods also led to slow
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`downloading of the webpage file to a user’s computer and slower rendering by the browser, which
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`increased the wait time for a page to load.
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`60.
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`Unlike prior-art methods, the ’168 patent brings together disparate ideas and concepts
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`for creating, storing, and building webpages. This can include building the page using a “What You
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`See Is What You Get” or “WYSIWYG” environment, so that, as the page is created or edited, it can be
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`viewed in the same manner it will appear on different types of screens when later accessed. Unlike
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`conventional models, the result is not a collection of computer code, but instead a group of user-
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`selected objects and settings. These can be saved in a database, for ease of access and efficient storage.
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`Since code files do not need to be stored, the page structure – the vast majority of the HTML code itself
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`– is created on the fly each time the page is loaded in a user browser. This unconventional step of
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`building the webpage HTML code on the fly is performed by the run time engine of the invention,
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`using data representative of the user settings. This allows the system to optimize the page based on
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`device-specific information, including the operating system, browser, and screen size.
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`61.
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`The invention claimed in the ’168 patent is not merely the routine or conventional use of
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`website creation systems and methods. Rather, the invention enables the creation of websites through
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`browser-based visual editing tools such as selectable settings panels that describe website elements,
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`with one or more settings corresponding to commands. The invention also enables retrieving that
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`information to generate a website. Those features are implemented exclusively using computer
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`technology, including using virtual machines.
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`12
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`

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`Case 3:20-cv-08321-WHO Document 1 Filed 11/25/20 Page 13 of 40
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`62.
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`The invention claimed in the ’168 patent offers substantial improvements in computer
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`performance and web design. For example, the invention allows for faster loading speeds, more
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`efficient storage of webpage data, and the ability to change the webpage more efficiently by editing
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`user settings rather than multiple versions of code. The invention also permits scaling of webpages and
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`elements within the webpage, to most efficiently use the screen space. Taken separately or together,
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`the claim elements of the invention significantly improve the operation of a computer and the process
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`of web design.
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`63.
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`The claims of the ’168 patent do not merely recite the performance of some business
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`practice known from the pre-Internet world along with the requirement to perform it on the Internet.
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`Instead, the claims of the ’168 patent recite one or more inventive concepts that are rooted in
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`computerized website creation technology, and overcome problems specifically arising in the realm of
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`computerized website creation technologies.
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`64.
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`The invention claimed in the ’168 patent neither preempts all ways of using website or
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`webpage authoring too