423 
These claims are expressly directed to technical improvements to then-existing 
technology, namely those associated with electronically programmable thermostats and other 
HVAC controls. See Alice, 573 U.S. at 217 (claims patent-eligible as a matter of law if “they 
improve an existing technological process”). Therefore, the administrative law judge finds that 
the asserted claims are patent-eligible as a matter of law. Id. 
Moreover, the specification provides further evidence that this claimed system and 
method is a significant departure and improvement over the existing electronic thermostat and 
HVAC control system. For example, “conventional” electronic thermostats and other HVAC 
controls had “no mechanism by which it might take the thermal mass of the structure into 
account, but thermal mass significantly affects many parameters relating to energy efficiency.” 
JX-0001 (’497 patent) & JX-0002 (‘322 patent) at col. 3, lns. 1-4; col. 2, lns. 52-67. The claims 
of the ’322 and ’497 patents purport to overcome the limitations in the conventional electronic 
thermostat HVAC control system at the time. For instance, the inventions use a networked 
thermostat HVAC control system to “measure[] temperature” in a building and “reporting said 
temperature measurements as well as the status of an HVAC control system over the Internet.” 
Id. at col. 3, ln. 62 – col. 4, ln. 14, col. 6, lns. 14-59, Fig. 1. 
The administrative law judge thus finds that respondents have not shown that the asserted 
claims of the of the ’497 and ’322 patents are directed to an abstract idea, devoid of a concrete or 
tangible application. 
b. Alice Step Two
Respondents argue, in part: 
None of the claims of either the ’497 or ’322 patent provide any inventive 
concept under step two of Alice. As EcoFactor’s own experts and the named 
inventor admit, the claimed components of the asserted claims of the ’497 and ’322 
PUBLIC VERSION Appx1919
Case: 23-1101 Document: 15 Page: 248 Filed: 05/09/2023