Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Systems & Software , 887 F.3d 1376 ( 2018 )


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  •   United States Court of Appeals
    for the Federal Circuit
    ______________________
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.,
    Plaintiff-Appellant
    v.
    ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE LLC,
    Defendant-Appellee
    ______________________
    2017-1930
    ______________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the
    Northern District of Florida in No. 1:16-cv-00267-MW-
    GRJ, Judge Mark E. Walker.
    ______________________
    Decided: April 20, 2018
    ______________________
    ANTHONY ITALO PROVITOLA, DeLand, FL, argued for
    plaintiff-appellant.
    ROBERT M. EVANS, JR., Senniger Powers LLP, St.
    Louis, MO, argued for defendant-appellee. Also repre-
    sented by KYLE G. GOTTUSO.
    ______________________
    Before NEWMAN, LOURIE, and REYNA, Circuit Judges.
    LOURIE, Circuit Judge.
    2       VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    Voter Verified, Inc. (“Voter Verified”) appeals from the
    United States District Court for the Northern District of
    Florida’s dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) of its
    claim for patent infringement, holding that the claims of
    U.S. Reissue Patent RE40,449 (“the ’449 patent”) are
    directed to patent-ineligible subject matter and are thus
    invalid under 
    35 U.S.C. § 101
    . See Voter Verified, Inc. v.
    Election Sys. & Software LLC, No. 1:16-cv-267, 
    2017 WL 3688148
    , at *2 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 21, 2017) (“Voter Verified
    NDFL”). For the reasons that follow, we affirm.
    BACKGROUND
    The ’449 patent, assigned to Voter Verified, was reis-
    sued on August 5, 2008 from U.S. Patent 6,769,613, and is
    directed to voting methods and systems that provide for
    “auto-verification” of a voter’s ballot. See ’449 patent
    Abstract. Generally, the patent discloses a process in
    which a voter enters a vote into a voting system; the
    system generates a corresponding printed ballot; and the
    voter verifies the printed ballot for accuracy and submits
    it for tabulation. See 
    id.
     col. 1 l. 64–col. 2 l. 40, col. 2 l.
    53–col. 3 l. 11.
    Before we address the issues in the current appeal, an
    overview of relevant events from a prior litigation is
    necessary. In November 2009, Voter Verified sued the
    predecessors of Election Systems & Software LLC (“Elec-
    tion Systems”) 1 in the Middle District of Florida alleging
    infringement of the ’449 patent. Election Systems, which
    produces and markets automated voting systems, coun-
    terclaimed that the claims of the ’449 patent were invalid
    under §§ 101, 102, 103, and 112. In a series of summary
    judgment orders, the district court made various validity
    and infringement decisions. The court determined that
    1   The parties do not dispute that this means Elec-
    tion Systems was a party to the prior litigation.
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE      3
    claims 1–93 were not infringed and claim 94 was invalid
    as indefinite under § 112. The court then entered sum-
    mary judgment in favor of Voter Verified concluding that
    all the claims of the ’449 patent, except for claim 94, were
    not invalid under §§ 101 and 112, because Election Sys-
    tems failed to present any arguments or evidence regard-
    ing invalidity of these claims. See Summ. J. Order at 18–
    19, Voter Verified, Inc. v. Premier Election Sols., Inc., No.
    6:09-cv-1968 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 15, 2010), ECF No. 155;
    Summ. J. Order at 20, Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Sys.
    & Software, Inc., No. 6:09-cv-1969 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 29,
    2010), ECF No. 114; J.A. 239. No further analysis of
    § 101 was provided. Finally, the court dismissed without
    prejudice the claim of invalidity of claims 85 and 93 under
    § 102, having already determined that they were not
    infringed, but held that claim 49 was invalid under § 103,
    even though the court had also already determined that it
    was not infringed. The court additionally held that the
    remaining claims 1–48, 50–84, and 86–92 were not inva-
    lid under §§ 102 and 103.
    Voter Verified appealed the holding of invalidity of
    claim 49, but not of claim 94. See Voter Verified, Inc. v.
    Premier Election Sols., Inc., 
    698 F.3d 1374
    , 1379 (Fed.
    Cir. 2012). Election Systems cross-appealed the uphold-
    ing of the validity of the remaining claims 1–48, 50–84,
    and 86–92. 
    Id.
    After briefing and oral argument, we affirmed the dis-
    trict court’s invalidity judgment of claim 49 under § 103.
    Id. at 1379–81. We also determined that the district court
    did not err in holding that claims 1–48, 50–84, and 86–92
    were not proven invalid because, in failing to respond to
    these arguments in its summary judgment briefing,
    Election Systems had not met its burden to prove its
    invalidity counterclaims by clear and convincing evidence.
    Id. at 1381–82. Therefore, only claims 49 and 94 remain
    invalid.
    4      VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    This brings us to the present case on appeal. In July
    2016, Voter Verified again sued Election Systems, this
    time in the Northern District of Florida, alleging that
    certain voting systems and equipment made or operated
    by Election Systems infringed the ’449 patent. Election
    Systems filed a motion to dismiss the complaint under
    Rule 12(b)(6) arguing that Voter Verified failed to state a
    claim upon which relief could be granted because all the
    claims of the ’449 patent are invalid under § 101. In
    response, Voter Verified argued that issue preclusion, or
    collateral estoppel, precludes Election Systems from
    relitigating the § 101 issue, which it argues had already
    been decided in the prior litigation. Election Systems
    countered that issue preclusion should not apply in this
    case because there was an intervening change in the law.
    Regardless, Election Systems contended that under
    Eleventh Circuit law, issue preclusion would still not
    apply because two of the four required elements of issue
    preclusion were not met. Specifically, Election Systems
    argued that the § 101 issue was not “actually litigated”
    and it was not “a critical and necessary part of the judg-
    ment” in the first litigation. See CSX Transp., Inc. v.
    Bhd. of Maint. of Way Emps., 
    327 F.3d 1309
    , 1317 (11th
    Cir. 2003).
    The district court granted Election Systems’s motion
    to dismiss. See Voter Verified NDFL, 
    2017 WL 3688148
    ,
    at *2. The court concluded that the “two-step analysis”
    recited in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 
    134 S. Ct. 2347
     (2014), constituted a “substantial change” in the
    law such that “the issue of patent validity is not precluded
    from further litigation.” Voter Verified NDFL, 
    2017 WL 3688148
    , at *1–2. The district court therefore did not
    reach an issue preclusion analysis under Eleventh Circuit
    law. The court then proceeded to analyze the claims of
    the ’449 patent under the two-step § 101 framework.
    First, the court determined that the patent was based on
    the abstract idea of “vote collection and verification.” Id.
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE    5
    at *2. Second, the court determined that the voting
    system was made up of “generic computer components
    performing generic computer functions,” and that this was
    insufficient to transform the abstract idea into patent-
    eligible subject matter. Id. As a result, the court held
    that all the claims of the ’449 patent were directed to
    patent-ineligible subject matter and thus invalid under
    § 101. Id.
    Voter Verified timely appealed. We have jurisdiction
    under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1295
    (a)(1).
    DISCUSSION
    We review a district court’s dismissal under Rule
    12(b)(6) under the law of the regional circuit. Content
    Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank,
    Nat’l Ass’n, 
    776 F.3d 1343
    , 1346 (Fed. Cir. 2014). The
    Eleventh Circuit reviews the grant of a Rule 12(b)(6)
    motion de novo, accepting as true the complaint’s factual
    allegations and construing them in the light most favora-
    ble to the plaintiff. Speaker v. U.S. Dep’t of Health &
    Human Servs. Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention, 
    623 F.3d 1371
    , 1379 (11th Cir. 2010).
    Before we reach the merits of the § 101 issue, we must
    first determine whether the district court properly con-
    cluded that the § 101 judgment from the prior litigation
    does not have preclusive effect in this case for the reason
    that Alice was an intervening change in the law. See
    Wright et al., 18 Fed. Prac. & Proc. Juris. § 4425 (3d ed.)
    (“Preclusion is most readily defeated by specific Supreme
    Court overruling of precedent relied upon in reaching the
    first decision.”); see also Dow Chem. Co. v. Nova Chems.
    Corp. (Can.), 
    803 F.3d 620
    , 628–29 (Fed. Cir. 2015);
    Wilson v. Turnage, 
    791 F.2d 151
    , 157 (Fed. Cir. 1986)
    (determining that issue preclusion was inapplicable when
    there was an “intervening change in the legal atmos-
    phere”). If there were a change in the law, then issue
    preclusion would not apply, which would allow us to reach
    6      VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    the merits of the § 101 issue. If, however, there were not
    a change in the law, then issue preclusion would still be a
    viable issue that we need to evaluate.
    I. Intervening Change in the Law
    The district court held that Alice was a “substantial
    change” in the law such that issue preclusion does not
    apply here. See Voter Verified NDFL, 
    2017 WL 3688148
    ,
    at *1. On appeal, Voter Verified argues that issue preclu-
    sion should apply because there was no change in the law,
    and Alice merely applied a rule from Bilski v. Kappos, 
    561 U.S. 593
     (2010), which it states was the controlling law at
    the time the district court in the prior litigation entered
    summary judgment on the § 101 issue. Election Systems
    counters that there was a change in the law, because “the
    two-step analysis [was] established in Mayo and further
    refined in Alice.” Appellee’s Br. 23; see also Oral Arg. at
    23:34–25:25, Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Sys. & Soft-
    ware LLC, No. 17-1930 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 9, 2018),
    http://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.gov/default.aspx?fl=20
    17-1930.mp3.
    We agree with Voter Verified to the extent that it ar-
    gues that Alice was not an intervening change in the law,
    so that it does not exempt a potential application of issue
    preclusion. However, we ultimately conclude for the
    reasons that follow that issue preclusion does not apply in
    this case.
    For the change of law exception to issue preclusion to
    apply, three conditions must be satisfied. First, “the
    governing law must have been altered.” Dow Chem., 803
    F.3d at 629 (citations omitted). Second, “the decision
    sought to be reopened must have applied the old law.” Id.
    (citations omitted). Third, the change in the law “must
    compel a different result under the facts of the particular
    case.” Id. (citations omitted). Additionally, in order to be
    intervening, the change in the law must have occurred
    after the first case was finally decided. See Wilson, 791
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE     7
    F.2d at 157 (“[A] judicial declaration intervening between
    the two proceedings may so change the legal atmosphere
    as to render the rule of collateral estoppel inapplicable.”
    (quoting Comm’r of Internal Revenue v. Sunnen, 
    333 U.S. 591
    , 600 (1948))).
    Turning to the first condition, we conclude that Alice,
    which was decided after the first litigation ended, did not
    alter the governing law of § 101. In Alice, the Court
    applied the same two-step framework it created in Mayo
    in its § 101 analysis. Alice, 
    134 S. Ct. at
    2355 (citing
    Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 
    566 U.S. 66
    , 77–79 (2012)). The Court stated, “[f]irst, we
    determine whether the claims at issue are directed to one
    of those patent-ineligible concepts.” 
    Id.
     (citing Mayo, 
    566 U.S. at
    77–78). If so, it stated, one must then determine
    “what else is there in the claims before us?” 
    Id.
     (quoting
    Mayo, 
    566 U.S. at 78
    ). Just as it did in Mayo, the Court
    characterized the second inquiry “as a search for an
    inventive concept,” id. at 2355 (internal quotation marks
    and citation omitted), that is “sufficient to transform the
    claimed abstract idea into a patent-eligible application,”
    id. at 2357 (internal quotation marks and citation omit-
    ted). It is thus evident from the Court’s reliance on Mayo
    that it was merely applying the same test as it set out in
    Mayo, and did not materially change it. See id. at 2355,
    2357 (citing Mayo for the rule of law). We therefore hold
    that Alice did not alter the governing law under § 101.
    Moreover, to the extent that Election Systems argues
    that Mayo was an intervening change in the law, we
    disagree because Mayo was not intervening. Mayo was
    decided while the first appeal was still pending before this
    court. After that, the only controlling decision that could
    be considered to have intervened is Alice, which issued
    after the first litigation. And, as we have discussed above,
    Alice did not cause a change in the law.
    8      VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    Because the first condition for avoiding issue preclu-
    sion has not been satisfied, we need not review the second
    and third conditions. Accordingly, the intervening change
    in the law exception does not preclude application of issue
    preclusion in this case.
    II. Issue Preclusion
    We continue our analysis by applying the doctrine of
    issue preclusion. Issue preclusion serves to “preclude
    parties from contesting matters that they have had a full
    and fair opportunity to litigate,” which “protects their
    adversaries from the expense and vexation attending
    multiple lawsuits, conserves judicial resources, and
    fosters reliance on judicial action by minimizing the
    possibility of inconsistent decisions.” Mont. v. United
    States, 
    440 U.S. 147
    , 153–54 (1979). We review a district
    court’s application of issue preclusion under the law of the
    regional circuit. Aspex Eyewear, Inc. v. Zenni Optical Inc.,
    
    713 F.3d 1377
    , 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2013). “However, for any
    aspects that may have special or unique application to
    patent cases, Federal Circuit precedent is applicable.” 
    Id.
    (citation omitted). The Eleventh Circuit reviews de novo a
    district court’s determination of issue preclusion, EEOC v.
    Pemco Aeroplex, Inc., 
    383 F.3d 1280
    , 1285 (11th Cir.
    2004), and requires a showing of all four of the following
    elements:
    (1) the issue at stake must be identical to the one
    involved in the prior litigation; (2) the issue must
    have been actually litigated in the prior suit;
    (3) the determination of the issue in the prior liti-
    gation must have been a critical and necessary
    part of the judgment in that action; and (4) the
    party against whom the earlier decision is assert-
    ed must have had a full and fair opportunity to lit-
    igate the issue in the earlier proceeding.
    CSX Transp., 
    327 F.3d at 1317
     (emphases added).
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE     9
    Voter Verified does not specifically argue that issue
    preclusion applies under the Eleventh Circuit’s test. But
    Election Systems argues that issue preclusion should not
    apply because at least two of the required elements have
    not been met. First, Election Systems contends that by
    choosing not to respond to Voter Verified’s arguments
    against its § 101 invalidity counterclaim, the issue was
    never “actually litigated.” See Oral Arg. at 20:30–22:35.
    Second, Election Systems asserts that a determination of
    invalidity under § 101 was not critical or necessary to the
    ultimate judgment of noninfringement. See id. at 22:35–
    22:45.
    We agree with Election Systems on both points. First,
    the § 101 issue was not actually litigated. It was in fact
    barely considered. The district court disposed of the § 101
    issue when Election Systems chose not to respond. From
    the court’s opinion, it appears, as Election Systems has
    argued, that the § 101 issue was never “actually litigat-
    ed,” because the court did not evaluate that question. See
    Restatement (Second) of Judgments § 27, cmt. e (1982)
    (“A judgment is not conclusive in a subsequent action as
    to issues which might have been but were not litigated
    and determined in the prior action.”).
    Second, the § 101 issue of invalidity was not necessary
    to the judgment in the first district court action. Whether
    issues of invalidity are critical or necessary to a judgment
    holding that a defendant is not liable for infringement is
    an aspect that is “special or unique” to patent cases.
    Aspex Eyewear, 713 F.3d at 1380. Validity and infringe-
    ment are separate concepts. In Cardinal Chemical, the
    Supreme Court noted that invalidity and infringement
    were independent issues. See Cardinal Chem. Co. v.
    Morton Int’l, Inc., 
    508 U.S. 83
    , 96 (1993) (stating that a
    party seeking a judgment of invalidity “presents a claim
    independent of the patentee’s charge of infringement”).
    Consequently, either an invalidity or a noninfringement
    10     VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    determination is sufficient for a final judgment holding
    that a party is not liable for infringement.
    In the first litigation, the Middle District of Florida
    held that Election Systems was not liable for infringe-
    ment of the ’449 patent. In so holding, the district court
    reached the conclusions that (1) claims 1–93 were not
    infringed; (2) claim 94 was invalid under § 112; (3) claims
    1–93 were not invalid under §§ 101 and 112; (4) claim 49
    was invalid under § 103; and (5) claims 1–48, 50–84, and
    86–92 were not invalid under §§ 102 and 103. The court
    did not specify which of these determinations were critical
    or necessary to the final judgment. See Restatement
    (Second) of Judgments § 27, cmt. i (1982) (“If a judgment
    of a court of first instance is based on determinations of
    two issues, either of which standing independently would
    be sufficient to support the result, the judgment is not
    conclusive with respect to either issue standing alone.”);
    cf. id. § 27, cmt. h, illus. 14 (illustrating that in a suit for
    trademark infringement, a determination that the trade-
    mark is both valid and not infringed does not preclude the
    same defendant from the defense of invalidity in a subse-
    quent action between the parties). Moreover, as we
    previously observed, the § 101 issue was not actually
    litigated. As a result, it is clear that the § 101 issue was
    not critical or necessary to the final judgment.
    We therefore conclude that issue preclusion does not
    apply in this case, not because there was a change in law
    as the district court held, but because the issue of patent
    eligibility under § 101 was not actually litigated and it
    was not necessary to the judgment rendered.
    III. Patent Eligibility under § 101
    Because issue preclusion does not apply here, we turn
    to the merits of the § 101 issue. Patent eligibility under
    § 101 “is ultimately an issue of law we review de novo.”
    Berkheimer v. HP Inc., 
    881 F.3d 1360
    , 1365 (Fed. Cir.
    2018) (italics added). Patent eligibility can be determined
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE     11
    at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage “when there are no factual
    allegations that, taken as true, prevent resolving the
    eligibility question as a matter of law.” Aatrix Software,
    Inc. v. Green Shades Software, Inc., 
    882 F.3d 1121
    , 1125
    (Fed. Cir. 2018).
    Under § 101, “[w]hoever invents or discovers any new
    and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition
    of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof,
    may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions
    and requirements of this title.” 
    35 U.S.C. § 101
    . Under
    the two-step framework, we first “determine whether the
    claims at issue are directed to a patent-ineligible concept.”
    Alice, 
    134 S. Ct. at 2355
    . If so, then we “examine the
    elements of the claim to determine whether it contains an
    ‘inventive concept’ sufficient to ‘transform’ the claimed
    abstract idea into a patent-eligible application.” 
    Id. at 2357
     (quoting Mayo, 
    566 U.S. at
    72–73, 78).
    Voter Verified argues that the claims of the ’449 pa-
    tent are directed to patent-eligible subject matter because
    the specification and claims describe “physical” and
    “human cognitive actions,” which are not abstract ideas.
    Appellant’s Br. 11. And at step two of the framework,
    Voter Verified contends that the district court incorrectly
    found that only generic computer components were re-
    quired because a voter performs some of the claimed steps
    as well.
    In response, Election Systems argues that the claims
    are directed to the abstract idea of “voting and checking
    the accuracy of a paper election ballot.” Appellee’s Br. 30.
    Furthermore, Election Systems contends that this repre-
    sents only a well-established human activity. Because the
    patent only discloses use of general purpose computers,
    Election Systems argues that this is nothing more than
    automating a fundamental human activity, which is
    insufficient to transform the claimed abstract idea into
    patent-eligible subject matter under step two. Election
    12      VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    Systems additionally argues that all of the claims recite
    nothing more than additional abstract ideas or generic
    computer components.
    The claims before us are claims 1–48 and 50–93 (the
    “remaining claims”); this excludes claims 49 and 94,
    which were previously finally held to be invalid. Of the
    remaining independent claims, claims 85 and 93 recite
    “self-verification” voting methods, and claims 1, 25, and
    56 recite closely related self-verifying voting systems.
    Method claim 85 and system claim 56 are exemplary of
    the method and system claims and read as follows:
    85. A method for voting providing for self-
    verification of a ballot comprising the steps of:
    (a) voting by a voter using a computer voting sta-
    tion programmed to present an election ballot,
    accept input of votes from the voter according
    to the election ballot,
    temporarily store the votes of the voter;
    (b) printing of the votes of the voter from the votes
    temporarily stored in the computer for the voting
    station;
    (c) comparison by the voter of the printed votes
    with the votes temporarily stored in the computer
    for the voting station;
    (d) decision by the voter as to whether a printed
    ballot is acceptable or unacceptable; and
    (e) submission of an acceptable printed ballot for
    tabulation.
    ’449 patent col. 11 ll. 53–68.
    56. A self-verifying voting system comprising:
    one or more voting stations comprising:
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.     v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE     13
    (a) one or more computer programs which op-
    erate in a computer to display general voting
    instructions, at least one election ballot show-
    ing the candidates and/or issues to be voted
    on, and directions to the voter for operation of
    the system;
    present the election ballot for voting and
    input of votes by the voter;
    accept input of the votes from the voter;
    print out the election ballot according to
    which the voter voted with the votes of the
    voter printed thereon, so that the votes of
    the voter are readable on said election bal-
    lot by the voter and readable by a ballot
    scanning machine; and
    record the votes in the computer;
    (b) at least one computer with at least one
    display device, at least one device to accept
    voting input from a voter, and sufficient
    memory to provide for the operation of said
    computer program;
    (c) a printer connected to said computer for
    printing the election according to which the
    voter voted;
    (d) a ballot scanning machine for reading the
    votes on the printed ballot printed according
    to the election ballot which the voter voted
    and
    a means for tabulating the printed ballots gener-
    ated by said one or more voting stations.
    
    Id.
     col. 10, ll. 7–33.
    We agree with Election Systems that these claims are
    directed to patent-ineligible subject matter. The factual
    14     VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    allegations here, taken as true, do not prevent a § 101
    determination at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage. While these
    claims encompass both methods and systems, we find
    there to be no distinction between them for § 101 purpos-
    es, as they simply recite the same concept. See Alice, 
    134 S. Ct. at 2360
     (“[T]he system claims are no different from
    the method claims in substance. The method claims
    recite the abstract idea implemented on a generic com-
    puter; the system claims recite a handful of generic com-
    puter components configured to implement the same
    idea.”).
    First, the claims as a whole are drawn to the concept
    of voting, verifying the vote, and submitting the vote for
    tabulation. Humans have performed this fundamental
    activity that forms the basis of our democracy for hun-
    dreds of years. See ’449 patent col. 2 ll. 62–66 (stating
    that the “voting process is ultimately founded upon the
    law which governs elections”); see also U.S. Const. art. I,
    § 1, cl. 1 (1789) (conveying a right in the “People of the
    several States” to vote). Even Voter Verified character-
    ized these steps as “human cognitive actions.” Appellant’s
    Br. 11. These steps are therefore nothing more than
    abstract ideas. Cf. CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions,
    Inc., 
    654 F.3d 1366
    , 1373 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“[M]ethods
    which can be performed entirely in the human mind are
    the types of methods that embody the ‘basic tools of
    scientific and technological work’ that are free to all men
    and reserved exclusively to none.” (quoting Gottschalk v.
    Benson, 
    409 U.S. 63
    , 67 (1972))).
    Second, there is no inventive concept in the claims
    sufficient to transform them into patent-eligible subject
    matter. Neither party disputes that the claims recite the
    use of general purpose computers that carry out the
    abstract idea. See ’449 patent col. 6 l. 18–col. 12 l. 24
    (reciting, inter alia, “a standard personal computer,” “a
    visual display device,” and “a keyboard”); see also 
    id.
     col. 3
    l. 12–col. 4 l. 28 (disclosing use of, inter alia, “data storage
    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE      15
    devices,” “a laser printer,” and a scanner “from the well-
    known art”). The case law has consistently held that
    these standard components are not sufficient to transform
    abstract claims into patent-eligible subject matter. 2 Voter
    Verified’s argument that these steps are not only per-
    formed by generic computer components, but also per-
    formed by a voter, was addressed under step one when
    they were determined to be an abstract idea. Because all
    of the remaining claims only recite different variations of
    the same abstract idea being performed with other gener-
    ic computer components, we therefore conclude that the
    district court properly determined that the claims of the
    ’449 patent are invalid under § 101.
    2    See, e.g., Alice, 
    134 S. Ct. at
    2359–60 (holding that
    “implement[ing] the abstract idea . . . on a generic com-
    puter” was not sufficient “to transform an abstract idea
    into a patent-eligible invention”); Intellectual Ventures I
    LLC v. Capital One Fin. Corp., 
    850 F.3d 1332
    , 1341–42
    (Fed. Cir. 2017) (holding that “using generic computer
    components and conventional computer data processing
    activities” was not sufficient to find an “inventive con-
    cept”); In re TLI Commc’ns LLC Patent Litig., 
    823 F.3d 607
    , 613–14 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (“These steps fall squarely
    within our precedent finding generic computer compo-
    nents insufficient to add an inventive concept to an oth-
    erwise abstract idea.”); Mortg. Grader, Inc. v. First Choice
    Loan Servs. Inc., 
    811 F.3d 1314
    , 1324–25 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
    (holding that generic computer components such as an
    “interface,” “network,” and “database” fail to satisfy the
    “inventive concept requirement” (internal quotation
    marks omitted)); Content Extraction, 776 F.3d at 1347–48
    (“There is no ‘inventive concept’ in [Content Extraction’s]
    use of a generic scanner and computer to perform well-
    understood, routine, and conventional activities common-
    ly used in industry.”).
    16    VOTER VERIFIED, INC.   v. ELECTION SYSTEMS & SOFTWARE
    We have considered Voter Verified’s remaining argu-
    ments, but find them unpersuasive.
    CONCLUSION
    For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district
    court’s dismissal of the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6)
    because all of the remaining claims of the ’449 patent are
    invalid under § 101.
    AFFIRMED