Court opts for PNC, overturns $218M patent infringement verdict

PITTSBURGH — Claims of patent infringement against PNC were invalid, an appeals court has ruled, overturning a $218 million verdict won three years ago by USAA.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with PNC Financial Services Group Inc. on June 12, the latest twist in a battle that has gone on for almost five years.

The United States Automobile Association initially filed suit against PNC in September 2020, alleging PNC infringed upon its mobile deposit technology. A Texas court awarded USAA $218 million in May 2022. In early 2023, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office invalidated claims in two patents asserted by USAA against PNC and subsequently ruled on a third one. PNC used these favorable administrative rulings to challenge the $218 million verdict.

“We conclude that the claims are directed to the abstract idea of depositing a check using a mobile device, and that there is no technological solution within the claims that pull them out of the realm of an abstract idea,” according to the June 12 decision.

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