Google Clears Patent Suit Over Search Engine Technology

A federal judge in California has dismissed Valtrus Innovations Ltd.'s lawsuit against Google LLC over patent infringement claims. The lawsuit centered on three US patents (6,728,704, 6,816,809, and 7,346,604) covering methods of consolidating and ranking search engine results.

Judge P. Casey Pitts ruled that the inventions outlined in these patents are ineligible as they recite abstract ideas without an inventive concept. He dismissed the case without allowing Valtrus to amend its claims, citing that patent ineligibility is apparent from the face of the claim language.

This decision follows a previous dismissal by Judge Pitts of an earlier Valtrus suit against Google over these same patents in March 2026.