Shopify has successfully defended itself in a patent infringement case, with a US judge ruling the patents in question invalid, Bloomberg Law has reported.   

The decision was made in the US District Court for the Central District of California, where Judge Hernán Vera found that the patents held by DKR Consulting were not eligible for protection. 

DKR Consulting had accused Shopify of infringing on four e-commerce patents related to social media retail technology.  

DKR claimed that the patents, which included an embeddable buy button and e-commerce stores that can be integrated into social media platforms, were being exploited by Shopify without proper authorisation. 

The disputed patents were originally owned by DIY Media, with which Shopify had discussed potential business collaborations between 2011 and 2015.  

DKR alleged that Shopify gained technical knowledge of the patents during this period, leading to the infringement. 

In March 2023, Shopify sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing that the patents were directed towards an abstract idea and therefore not patentable.  

The company referenced the US Supreme Court's decision in the Alice Corp v CLS Bank International decision by the US Supreme Court. This ruling requires an invention to have additional elements that make it eligible for a patent. 

Judge Vera concurred with Shopify's argument, stating that the patents did not advance computer functionality and merely described a generic process of online communication between servers and devices.  

"The idea of enhancing web widgets does not constitute an advance in computer functionality," stated Hernán D Vera. 

Legal representation for DKR was provided by Daignault Iyer and Perkowski Legal. Shopify was represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Reuters reported in May 2024 an earlier legal victory by Shopify after a US federal court in the state of Delaware overturned a jury’s decision that required the company to pay $40m for patent infringement.