Match.com has secured a final victory in a multi-year patent litigation brought by British Telecommunications PLC, with a Delaware federal court ruling that the last remaining claim failed to meet the standards for patent eligibility. The dispute centered on U.S. Patent No. 7,243,105, which BT argued was infringed by Match.com’s “Daily Matches” feature.

Judge William C. Bryson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware granted summary judgment in favor of Match.com, holding that the asserted claim was directed to an abstract idea and lacked the requisite inventive concept under 35 U.S.C. § 101. The decision, unsealed on August 6, 2025, cited the Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank framework as determinative.

Under Alice, courts must assess whether a patent claim is directed to a patent-ineligible concept—such as an abstract idea—and whether it contains an “inventive concept” that transforms the nature of the claim. Here, Judge Bryson concluded that the concept of updating user profiles based on behavioral data was a routine digital service practice, and the patent failed both prongs of the test.

The full memorandum opinion is available through Justia.

This outcome brings closure to litigation initiated by BT in 2018, which initially alleged infringement of multiple patents by Match.com and other IAC/InterActiveCorp subsidiaries. Over time, the case was narrowed through dismissal of various claims, with the court’s most recent ruling extinguishing the final remaining allegation tied to the ’105 patent.

For in-house counsel and IP litigation teams, the ruling reinforces the limitations placed on software patent enforcement—particularly where the underlying technology can be characterized as abstract or lacking technical innovation. It further affirms the enduring reach of Alice in invalidating patents that, while framed in technical terms, offer no meaningful advancement over established practices.