Full opinion text
LUCY H. KOH, United States District Judge Plaintiffs Procter & Gamble Co. ("P&G") and Canfield Scientific, Inc. ("Canfield") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed a patent infringement suit against Defendant QuantifiCare Inc. ("QuantifiCare"). Plaintiffs allege that QuantifiCare infringes claims of U.S. Patent No. 6,571,003 ("the '003 Patent"). Before the Court is QuantifiCare's Motion to Dismiss, which contends that the asserted claims of the '003 Patent fail to recite patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. ECF No. 35 ("Mot."). Having considered the submissions of the parties, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court GRANTS in part and DENIES in part QuantifiCare's Motion to Dismiss. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background 1. The Parties Plaintiff P&G is an Ohio corporation with its primary place of business in Cincinnati, Ohio. ECF No. 33 ("First Amended Complaint" or "FAC") ¶ 1. P&G is the assignee of the '003 Patent. Id. Plaintiff Canfield is a New Jersey corporation with its primary place of business in Parsippany, New Jersey. Id. ¶ 2. Canfield is the sole licensee of the '003 Patent. Id. Defendant QuantifiCare is a California corporation with its primary place of business in San Mateo, California. Id. ¶ 3. 2. The '003 Patent The '003 Patent is titled "Skin Imaging and Analysis Systems and Methods." FAC, Ex. A ( '003 patent). It was filed on June 14, 1999 and issued on May 27, 2003. The '003 Patent generally relates to "displaying information associated with a plurality of skin defects." '003 patent, col 1:7-8; id. , Abstract (describing a process for "analyz[ing] and display[ing] human skin images"). More specifically, the '003 Patent describes and claims an apparatus and method for "determining and displaying the location of one or more analysis areas and defect areas associated with a digital image of human skin." Id. , col. 1:8-10. Identifying and presenting the skin defects facilitates further analysis, including determination of the severity of the defects, recommendation of cosmetic or medical treatments, and simulation of an improvement or worsening of the defect areas. Id. , col. 1:47-50. Figure 3 illustrates the steps of the overall operation of the process: Id. , fig.3. The specification provides details about implementing the steps in the process. First, at step 302, the controller in a computing device acquires a digital image of a person. Id. , col. 4:56-59. One technique is to have a human operator position the human subject and instruct a camera to take a photograph. Id. , col. 4:59-5:6. In order for the computing device to determine and display the skin defects associated with that image, the image must be digitized and the digital image data transferred. Id. , col. 5:6-9. The specification provides other ways to retrieve the digital image: it may be submitted by the human subject over the computer, accessed from a database, or created by scanning a physical photograph. Id. , col. 5:9-14. Second, at step 304, the computing device determines a sub-image of the entire digital image for analysis. Id. , col. 6:12-18. This sub-imaging process can be done manually by a human operator or automatically by the computing device, and the decision about whether to use manual or automatic sub-imaging can also be automated. Id. , col. 6:29-42. When manual sub-image determination is selected, the human operator either draws the sub-image border or follows prompts from the computing device to select particular landmarks (e.g., the corner of the mouth, nose, or eye) that are used to draw the border. Id. , col. 6:43-59. When automatic sub-image determination is selected, the system provides two options: semi-automatic and fully automatic sub-imaging. Id. , col. 6:60-62. In semi-automatic sub-imaging, the user identifies the location of some facial landmarks and the computing device determines the remaining landmarks automatically by comparing the user-entered landmarks to a standard template. Id. , col. 6:63-7:13. In fully automatic sub-imaging, the computing device determines all of the landmarks by employing, for example, a facial feature recognition algorithm to search for particular patterns in the digital image. Id. , col. 7:17-27. The border of the sub-image is formed by connecting the landmarks. Id. , col. 7:13-16. Third, at step 306, the computing device analyzes the previously determined sub-image to locate skin defects and assign them a numerical severity. Id. , col. 7:58-66. According to the specification, the system can be configured to locate multiple defect types, such as acne, liver spots, freckles, moles, wrinkles, and pores. Id. , col. 8:4-10. Specifically, the computing device uses known algorithms to locate the areas in the image that contain the type of defect desired. Id. , col. 8:6-32. The system has the capability to create a new image that visually displays the skin defects by changing the shade of the pixels in the defect areas or drawing a circle around the defect areas. Id. , col. 8:33-46. From there, the computing device determines a numerical severity associated with each of the identified defect areas. Id. , col. 8:47-48. The specification describes two approaches for calculating the numerical severity: (1) subtracting the color content of the pixels associated with the skin defect from the color content of the pixels in the area surrounding the defect; and (2) counting the total number of pixels associated with the skin defect. Id. , col. 8:48-60. The numerical severity figures may be added or averaged, and the aggregated figure may be normalized by taking into account human perception of different defects. Id. , col. 8:60-9:4. Finally, the normalized severity figure is compared to data for persons with a similar age, geography, or ethnicity to determine a percentile. Id. , col. 9:5-9. The specification provides an example where a person is determined to be in the 55th or 56th percentile because "55% of [the] sample group of people in the analyzed person's age group had a normalized severity for the current defect type below the analyzed person's severity." Id. , col. 9:9-14. The computing device repeats the above analysis for all of the defect areas and defect types. Id. , col. 9:15-24. At the end of that process, the numerical severities may also be aggregated and scored, and the computing device may determine an overall skin severity by using one of several well-known methods. Id. , col. 9:25-10:40. Fourth, at step 308, the results of the foregoing analysis are displayed to the human operator. Id. , col. 10:43-57. The specification offers a number of viewing alternatives. For example, the user may select which defect types to display through a graphical user interface. Id. , col. 10:58-11:3. Users have the option to see an electronic overlay that identifies each of the defect areas and to alternate between the electronically overlaid image and the original image to better comprehend the location of the defects. Id. , col. 11:4-13. Additionally, users may look at a graphical representation, such as a bar chart, that visually presents a comparison between the analyzed person's severity and the average severity for a similar population. Id. , col. 11:14-33. Finally, the specification discusses possible applications at step 310. Id. , col. 11:47-49. Specifically, the computing device may output a simulated image that projects the improvement or worsening of certain skin defects. Id. , col. 11:47-57. In general, simulating those changes involves modifying the color of the pixels associated with the skin defect by way of a well-known facial simulation or morphing algorithm. Id. , col. 11:65-12:24. The user may control which defect types should be changed and the magnitude of the improvement or worsening. Id. , col. 12:25-41. Based on these simulations, the operator or the computing device may recommend cosmetic products or treatments to eliminate, prevent, or hide the subject's skin defects. Id. , col. 11:57-64, 12:42-48. Plaintiffs currently assert claims 1-4, 8-9, 11-14, 30, and 32-41 of the '003 Patent. FAC ¶¶ 50, 54-73; Opp. at 4. Independent claims 1 and 30 recite: 1. A method for locating one or more visual skin defects of a portion of a person, comprising: acquiring a first digital image of the portion of the person; electronically analyzing the first digital image of the portion of the person to locate an area containing a skin defect; determining a first numerical severity associated with the area containing the skin defect; and generating a comparison between the first numerical severity and a predetermined value associated with a population of people. 30. A method for locating a plurality of visual skin defects associated with a face of a person, comprising: acquiring a first digital image of the face of the person, the first digital image having a size and a skin color; identifying a first plurality of landmarks located on the first digital image of the face of the person, wherein at least one of the landmarks is selected from the group comprising (a) a corner of an eye in the first digital image, (b) a corner of a nose in the first digital image, and (c) a corner of a mouth in the first digital image; electronically determining a sub-image of the first digital image of the face of the person based on the first plurality of landmarks; and electronically analyzing the sub-image of the first digital image of the face of the person to locate a plurality of defect areas, wherein each defect area contains a visual skin defect and each defect area has a size that is less than about 10% of the size of the first digital image of the face of the person. '003 patent, col. 12:57-67, 15:11-29. B. Procedural History On May 26, 2017, Plaintiffs filed the instant patent infringement suit. ECF No. 1. They amended their complaint on August 10, 2017. In their First Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that QuantifiCare "has infringed, and continues to infringe, the [']003 Patent." FAC ¶ 45. The products accused include QuantifiCare's "LifeViz Infinity, LifeViz Mini[,] and DermaViz." Id. ¶ 44. On August 22, 2017, QuantifiCare filed the instant Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint, ECF No. 35 ("Mot."). On October 5, 2017, Plaintiffs filed an opposition to QuantifiCare's Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 41 ("Opp."), and on October 30, 2017, QuantifiCare filed a reply, ECF No. 45 ("Reply"). II. LEGAL STANDARD A. Motion to Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(6) Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a defendant may move to dismiss an action for failure to allege "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. The plausibility standard is not akin to a 'probability requirement,' but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citation omitted). For purposes of ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court "accept[s] factual allegations in the complaint as true and construe[s] the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. , 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir. 2008). Nonetheless, the Court is not required to " 'assume the truth of legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.' " Fayer v. Vaughn , 649 F.3d 1061, 1064 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting W. Mining Council v. Watt , 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir. 1981) ). Mere "conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to dismiss." Adams v. Johnson , 355 F.3d 1179, 1183 (9th Cir. 2004). Furthermore, " '[a] plaintiff may plead [him]self out of court' " if he "plead[s] facts which establish that he cannot prevail on his ... claim." Weisbuch v. Cty. of L.A. , 119 F.3d 778, 783 n.1 (9th Cir. 1997) (quoting Warzon v. Drew , 60 F.3d 1234, 1239 (7th Cir. 1995) ). B. Motion to Dismiss for Patent Eligibility Challenges Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 QuantifiCare's Motion argues that the asserted claims of the '003 Patent fail to claim patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101 in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International , --- U.S. ----, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014). Whether a claim recites patent-eligible subject matter under § 101 is a question of law. Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Fin. Corp. , 850 F.3d 1332, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ("Patent eligibility under § 101 is an issue of law[.]"); In re Roslin Inst. (Edinburgh) , 750 F.3d 1333, 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (same). Accordingly, a district court may resolve the issue of patent eligibility under § 101 by way of a motion to dismiss. See, e.g. , Secured Mail Sols.LLC v. Universal Wilde, Inc. , 873 F.3d 905, 912 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (affirming determination of ineligibility made on 12(b)(6) motion); Content Extraction & Transmission LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, Nat'l Ass'n , 776 F.3d 1343, 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (same); see also buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc. , 765 F.3d 1350, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (affirming determination of ineligibility made on motion for judgment on the pleadings). Although claim construction is often desirable, and may sometimes be necessary, to resolve whether a patent claim is directed to patent-eligible subject matter, the Federal Circuit has explained that "claim construction is not an inviolable prerequisite to a validity determination under § 101." Bancorp Servs., L.L.C. v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Can. (U.S.) , 687 F.3d 1266, 1273 (Fed. Cir. 2012). Where the court has a "full understanding of the basic character of the claimed subject matter," the question of patent eligibility may properly be resolved on the pleadings. Content Extraction , 776 F.3d at 1349 ; see also Genetic Techs. Ltd. v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. , 72 F.Supp.3d 521, 539 (D. Del. 2014), aff'd sub nom. Genetic Techs. Ltd. v. Merial L.L.C. , 818 F.3d 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2016). C. Substantive Legal Standards Applicable Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 1. Patent-Eligible Subject Matter Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 Section 101 of Title 35 of the United States Code"defines the subject matter that may be patented under the Patent Act." Bilski v. Kappos , 561 U.S. 593, 601, 130 S.Ct. 3218, 177 L.Ed.2d 792 (2010). Under § 101, the scope of patentable subject matter encompasses "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof." Id. (quoting 35 U.S.C. § 101 ). These categories are broad, but they are not limitless. Section 101"contains an important implicit exception: Laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patentable." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2354 (citation omitted). These three categories of subject matter are excepted from patent-eligibility because "they are the basic tools of scientific and technological work," which are "free to all men and reserved exclusively to none." Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc. , 566 U.S. 66, 71, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012) (citations omitted). The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that allowing patent claims for such purported inventions would "tend to impede innovation more than it would tend to promote it," thereby thwarting the primary object of the patent laws. Id. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has also cautioned that "[a]t some level, all inventions embody, use, reflect, rest upon, or apply laws of nature, natural phenomena, or abstract ideas." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2354 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). Accordingly, courts must "tread carefully in construing this exclusionary principle lest it swallow all of patent law." Id. In Alice , the leading case on patent-eligible subject matter under § 101, the U.S. Supreme Court refined the "framework for distinguishing patents that claim laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas from those that claim patent-eligible applications of those concepts" originally set forth in Mayo , 566 U.S. at 77, 132 S.Ct. 1289. Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2355. This analysis, generally known as the " Alice " framework, proceeds in two steps as follows: First, we determine whether the claims at issue are directed to one of those patent-ineligible concepts. If so, we then ask, "[w]hat else is there in the claims before us?" To answer that question, we consider the elements of each claim both individually and "as an ordered combination" to determine whether the additional elements "transform the nature of the claim" into a patent-eligible application. We have described step two of this analysis as a search for an " 'inventive concept' "-i.e. , an element or combination of elements that is "sufficient to ensure that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [ineligible concept] itself." Id. (alterations in original) (citations omitted); see also In re TLI Commc'ns LLC Patent Litig. , 823 F.3d 607, 611 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (describing "the now familiar two-part test described by the [U.S.] Supreme Court in Alice "). 2. Alice Step One-Identification of Claims Directed to an Abstract Idea Neither the U.S. Supreme Court nor the Federal Circuit has set forth a bright-line test separating abstract ideas from concepts that are sufficiently concrete so as to require no further inquiry under the first step of the Alice framework. See, e.g. , Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2357 (noting that "[the U.S. Supreme Court] need not labor to delimit the precise contours of the 'abstract ideas' category in this case"); DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P. , 773 F.3d 1245, 1256 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (observing that the U.S. Supreme Court did not "delimit the precise contours of the 'abstract ideas' category" in Alice (citation omitted)). As a result, in evaluating whether particular claims are directed to patent-ineligible abstract ideas, courts have generally begun by "compar[ing] claims at issue to those claims already found to be directed to an abstract idea in previous cases." Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp. , 822 F.3d 1327, 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Two of the U.S. Supreme Court's leading cases concerning the "abstract idea" exception involved claims held to be abstract because they were drawn to longstanding, fundamental economic practices. See Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2356 (claims "drawn to the concept of intermediated settlement, i.e. , the use of a third party to mitigate settlement risk" were directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea); Bilski , 561 U.S. at 611-12, 130 S.Ct. 3218 (claims drawn to "the basic concept of hedging, or protecting against risk" were directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea because "[h]edging is a fundamental economic practice long prevalent in our system of commerce and taught in any introductory finance class" (citation omitted)). Similarly, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that information itself is intangible. See Microsoft Corp. v. AT & T Corp. , 550 U.S. 437, 451 n.12, 127 S.Ct. 1746, 167 L.Ed.2d 737 (2007). Accordingly, the Federal Circuit has generally found claims abstract where they are directed to some combination of acquiring information, analyzing information, and/or displaying the results of that analysis. See FairWarning IP, LLC v. Iatric Sys., Inc. , 839 F.3d 1089, 1094-95 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims "directed to collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying a user when misuse is detected" were drawn to a patent-ineligible abstract idea); Elec. Power Grp., LLC v. Alstom S.A. , 830 F.3d 1350, 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims directed to an abstract idea because "[t]he advance they purport to make is a process of gathering and analyzing information of a specified content, then displaying the results, and not any particular assertedly inventive technology for performing those functions"); In re TLI Commc'ns LLC , 823 F.3d at 611 (claims were "directed to the abstract idea of classifying and storing digital images in an organized manner"); see also Elec. Power Grp. , 830 F.3d at 1353-54 (collecting cases). However, the determination of whether other types of computer-implemented claims are abstract has proven more "elusive." See, e.g. , Internet Patents Corp. v. Active Network, Inc. , 790 F.3d 1343, 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ("[P]recision has been elusive in defining an all-purpose boundary between the abstract and the concrete[.]"). As a result, in addition to comparing claims to prior U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit precedents, courts considering computer-implemented inventions have taken varied approaches to determining whether particular claims are directed to an abstract idea. For example, courts have considered whether the claims "purport to improve the functioning of the computer itself," Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2359, which may suggest that the claims are not abstract, or instead whether "computers are invoked merely as a tool" to carry out an abstract process, Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1336 ; see also id. at 1335 ("[S]ome improvements in computer-related technology when appropriately claimed are undoubtedly not abstract, such as a chip architecture, an LED display, and the like. Nor do we think that claims directed to software, as opposed to hardware, are inherently abstract[.]"). The Federal Circuit has followed this approach to find claims patent-eligible in several cases. See Visual Memory LLC v. NVIDIA Corp. , 867 F.3d 1253, 1259-60 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (claims directed to an improved memory system were not abstract because they "focus[ed] on a 'specific asserted improvement in computer capabilities'-the use of programmable operational characteristics that are configurable based on the type of processor" (quoting Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1336 )); McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc. , 837 F.3d 1299, 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims directed to automating part of a preexisting method for 3-D facial expression animation were not abstract because they "focused on a specific asserted improvement in computer animation, i.e., the automatic use of rules of a particular type"); Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1335-36 (claims directed to a specific type of self-referential table in a computer database were not abstract because they focused "on the specific asserted improvement in computer capabilities (i.e., the self-referential table for a computer database)"). Similarly, the Federal Circuit has found that claims directed to a "new and useful technique" for performing a particular task were not abstract. See Thales Visionix Inc. v. United States , 850 F.3d 1343, 1349 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (holding that "claims directed to a new and useful technique for using sensors to more efficiently track an object on a moving platform" were not abstract); Rapid Litig. Mgmt. Ltd. v. CellzDirect, Inc. , 827 F.3d 1042, 1048, 1050 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (holding that claims directed to "a new and useful laboratory technique for preserving hepatocytes," a type of liver cell, were not abstract); see also Diamond v. Diehr , 450 U.S. 175, 187, 101 S.Ct. 1048, 67 L.Ed.2d 155 (1981) (holding that claims for a method to cure rubber that employed a formula to calculate the optimal cure time were not abstract). Another helpful tool used by courts in the abstract idea inquiry is consideration of whether the claims have an analogy to the brick-and-mortar world, such that they cover a "fundamental ... practice long prevalent in our system." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2356 ; see, e.g. , Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp. , 838 F.3d 1307, 1317 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (finding an email processing software program to be abstract through comparison to a "brick-and-mortar" post office); Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Symantec Corp. , 100 F.Supp.3d 371, 383 (D. Del. 2015) ("Another helpful way of assessing whether the claims of the patent are directed to an abstract idea is to consider if all of the steps of the claim could be performed by human beings in a non-computerized 'brick and mortar' context." (citing buySAFE , 765 F.3d at 1353 )). Courts will also (or alternatively, as the facts require) consider a related question of whether the claims are, in essence, directed to a mental process or a process that could be done with pencil and paper. See Synopsys, Inc. v. Mentor Graphics Corp. , 839 F.3d 1138, 1147 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims for translating a functional description of a logic circuit into a hardware component description of the logic circuit were patent-ineligible because the "method can be performed mentally or with pencil and paper"); CyberSource Corp. v. Retail Decisions, Inc. , 654 F.3d 1366, 1372 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (claim for verifying the validity of a credit card transaction over the Internet was patent-ineligible because the "steps can be performed in the human mind, or by a human using a pen and paper"); see also, e.g. , Mortg. Grader, Inc. v. First Choice Loan Servs. Inc. , 811 F.3d 1314, 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims for computer-implemented system to enable borrowers to shop for loan packages anonymously were abstract where "[t]he series of steps covered by the asserted claims ... could all be performed by humans without a computer"). Regardless of the particular analysis that is best suited to the specific facts at issue in a case, however, the Federal Circuit has emphasized that "the first step of the [ Alice ] inquiry is a meaningful one, i.e., ... a substantial class of claims are not directed to a patent-ineligible concept." Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1335. The court's task is thus not to determine whether claims merely involve an abstract idea at some level, see id. , but rather to examine the claims "in their entirety to ascertain whether their character as a whole is directed to excluded subject matter," Internet Patents , 790 F.3d at 1346. 3. Alice Step Two-Evaluation of Abstract Claims for a Limiting Inventive Concept A claim drawn to an abstract idea is not necessarily invalid if the claim's limitations-considered individually or as an ordered combination-serve to "transform the claims into a patent-eligible application." Content Extraction , 776 F.3d at 1348. Thus, the second step of the Alice analysis (the search for an "inventive concept") asks whether the claim contains an element or combination of elements that "ensure[s] that the patent in practice amounts to significantly more than a patent upon the [abstract idea] itself." 134 S.Ct. at 2355 (citation omitted). The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that transforming an abstract idea to a patent-eligible application of the idea requires more than simply reciting the idea followed by "apply it." Id. at 2357 (quoting Mayo , 566 U.S. at 72, 132 S.Ct. 1289 ). In that regard, the Federal Circuit has repeatedly held that "[f]or the role of a computer in a computer-implemented invention to be deemed meaningful in the context of this analysis, it must involve more than performance of 'well-understood, routine, [and] conventional activities previously known to the industry.' " Content Extraction , 776 F.3d at 1347-48 (alteration in original) (quoting Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2359 ); see also Mortg. Grader , 811 F.3d at 1324-25 (holding that "generic computer components such as an 'interface,' 'network,' and 'database' ... do not satisfy the inventive concept requirement"); Bancorp Servs. , 687 F.3d at 1278 ("To salvage an otherwise patent-ineligible process, a computer must be integral to the claimed invention, facilitating the process in a way that a person making calculations or computations could not."). Likewise, "[i]t is well-settled that mere recitation of concrete, tangible components is insufficient to confer patent eligibility to an otherwise abstract idea" where those components simply perform their "well-understood, routine, conventional" functions. In re TLI Commc'ns LLC , 823 F.3d at 613 (citation omitted); see also id. (ruling that "telephone unit," "server," "image analysis unit," and "control unit" limitations were insufficient to satisfy Alice step two where claims were drawn to abstract idea of classifying and storing digital images in an organized manner). In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court explained in Bilski that "limiting an abstract idea to one field of use or adding token postsolution components [does] not make the concept patentable." 561 U.S. at 612, 130 S.Ct. 3218 (citing Parker v. Flook , 437 U.S. 584, 98 S.Ct. 2522, 57 L.Ed.2d 451 (1978) ); see also Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2358 (same). The Federal Circuit has similarly stated that attempts "to limit the use of the abstract idea to a particular technological environment" are insufficient to render an abstract idea patent-eligible. Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC , 772 F.3d 709, 716 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. Capital One Bank (USA) , 792 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ("An abstract idea does not become nonabstract by limiting the invention to a particular field of use or technological environment, such as the Internet."). In keeping with these restrictions, the Federal Circuit has found that claims "necessarily rooted in computer technology in order to overcome a problem specifically arising in the realm of computer networks" can be sufficiently transformative to supply an inventive concept. DDR , 773 F.3d at 1257 ; see also id. at 1248, 1259 (concluding that claims that addressed the "Internet-centric problem" of third-party merchant advertisements that would "lure ... visitor traffic away" from a host website amounted to an inventive concept). In addition, a "non-conventional and non-generic arrangement of known, conventional pieces" can amount to an inventive concept. BASCOM Glob. Internet Servs., Inc. v. AT & T Mobility LLC , 827 F.3d 1341, 1350 (Fed. Cir. 2016). For example, in BASCOM , the Federal Circuit addressed a claim for Internet content filtering performed at "a specific location, remote from the end-users, with customizable filtering features specific to each end user." Id. Because this "specific location" was different from the location where Internet content filtering was traditionally performed, the Federal Circuit concluded this was a "non-conventional and non-generic arrangement of known, conventional pieces" that provided an inventive concept. Id. As another example, in Amdocs (Israel) Ltd. v. Openet Telecom, Inc. , the Federal Circuit held that claims relating to solutions for managing accounting and billing data over large, disparate networks recited an inventive concept because they contained "specific enhancing limitation[s] that necessarily incorporate[d] the invention's distributed architecture." 841 F.3d 1288, 1301 (Fed. Cir. 2016), cert. denied , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 469, 199 L.Ed.2d 356 (2017). The use of a "distributed architecture," which stored accounting data information near the source of the information in the disparate networks, transformed the claims into patentable subject matter. Id. 4. Preemption In addition to these principles, courts sometimes find it helpful to assess claims against the policy rationale for § 101. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that the "concern that undergirds [the] § 101 jurisprudence" is preemption. Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2358. Thus, courts have readily concluded that a claim is not patent-eligible when the claim is so abstract that it preempts "use of [the claimed] approach in all fields" and "would effectively grant a monopoly over an abstract idea." Bilski , 561 U.S. at 612, 130 S.Ct. 3218. However, the inverse is not true: "[w]hile preemption may signal patent ineligible subject matter, the absence of complete preemption does not demonstrate patent eligibility." FairWarning , 839 F.3d at 1098 (alteration in original) (citation omitted). III. DISCUSSION QuantifiCare's Motion to Dismiss contends that the asserted claims of the '003 Patent fall within the patent-ineligible "abstract ideas" exception to § 101. The Court applies the Alice framework described above to these claims. A. Scope of Analysis and Representative Claims Before turning to the substance of the parties' eligibility arguments, the Court clarifies the scope of the claims to be assessed. Currently Plaintiffs are asserting claims 1-4, 8-9, 11-14, 30, and 32-41 of the '003 Patent. FAC ¶¶ 50, 54-73; Opp. at 4. Nevertheless, the Court need not individually analyze every claim if certain claims are representative. See generally Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2359-60 (finding 208 claims to be patent-ineligible based on analysis of one representative claim). Often, parties will agree that certain claims are representative for the purposes of a § 101 analysis. See, e.g. , Synopsys , 839 F.3d at 1147 (parties agreed that certain claims were representative); Intellectual Ventures I , 838 F.3d at 1313 (parties agreed that certain claims were representative). However, when they do not, a district court may make this determination on its own. Content Extraction , 776 F.3d at 1348 (endorsing district court's conclusion that "addressing each claim of the asserted patents was unnecessary" and upholding district court's designation, "[a]fter conducting its own analysis," of certain claims as representative). Here, the parties dispute which claims are representative. QuantifiCare argues that the Court should analyze claim 1 as representative of all of the asserted claims. Mot. at 6, 23; Reply at 7. Plaintiffs disagree that claim 1 is representative of all of the asserted claims and instead propose that the Court address: (1) claim 30, as representative of claims 9, 30, and 32-41; (2) claim 13, as representative of claims 13-14, 36-37, and 40-41; and (3) claim 1, as representative of claims 1-4, 8-9, 11-12, 30, 32-35, and 38-39. Opp. at 4-6, 23. The Court need not resolve these arguments because the Court can address all the claims of the '003 Patent. However, as discussed more fully below, the Court agrees with Plaintiffs that materially relevant differences between the asserted claims make it helpful to treat groups of claims separately. Accordingly, the Court proceeds by analyzing: (1) claim 1, as representative of claims 1-4, 8, and 11-14; and (2) claim 30, as representative of claims 9, 30, and 32-41. After assessing the patentability of the allegedly representative claim, the Court will then use that analysis as a basis for evaluating the remaining claims. B. Claims 1-4, 8, and 11-14 of the '003 Patent The Court now turns to a determination of whether claims 1-4, 8, and 11-14 of the '003 Patent are patent-ineligible under § 101. The Court begins with claim 1, the claim for which the parties have provided substantial briefing, and then turns to the remaining claims. 1. Alice Step One for Claim 1 of the '003 Patent -Whether the Claim Is Directed to an Abstract Idea Step one of the Alice framework directs the Court to assess "whether the claims at issue are directed to [an abstract idea]." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2355. On this point, QuantifiCare contends that claim 1 is directed to "electronic location and quantification of skin defects through taking images and analysis to compare the defect severity with a predetermined population group." Mot. at 9. QuantifiCare argues that this concept is nothing more than acquiring and analyzing certain types of information, which the Federal Circuit has deemed to be abstract. Id. at 11. QuantifiCare also emphasizes that claim 1 recites this idea at a high level of generality without providing concrete structures or implementation details. Id. at 16. Plaintiffs respond with one paragraph at the end of their opposition. See Opp. at 23-24. They argue that claim 1 is directed to "the acquisition of a digital image and the electronic analysis of the digital image data to locate skin defects." Id. at 23 (emphasis omitted). Plaintiffs contend that the claim is "clearly rooted in computerized processing of pixelated, binary data of a digital image" and incorporates the specific implementation details described in the specification. Id. at 23-24. The step one inquiry "applies a stage-one filter to claims, considered in light of the specification, based on whether 'their character as a whole is directed to excluded subject matter.' " Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1335 (citation omitted). Thus, the Court conducts its step one inquiry by first identifying what the "character as a whole" of claim 1 of the '003 Patent is "directed to," and then discussing whether this is an abstract idea. a. Claim 1 of the '003 Patent -"Directed to" Inquiry The Court begins by examining claim 1 of the '003 Patent in its entirety to understand what its "character as a whole" is "directed to." Elec. Power Grp. , 830 F.3d at 1353 ("[W]e have described the first-stage inquiry as looking at the 'focus' of the claims, their 'character as a whole[.]' " (citation omitted)); Accenture Glob.Servs., GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc. , 728 F.3d 1336, 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ("[T]he court must first identify and define whatever fundamental concept appears wrapped up in the claim." (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)). In distilling the character of a claim, the Court is careful not to express the claim's focus at an unduly "high level of abstraction ... untethered from the language of the claims," but rather at a level consonant with the level of generality or abstraction expressed in the claims themselves. Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1337 ; see also Thales Visionix , 850 F.3d at 1347 ("We must therefore ensure at step one that we articulate what the claims are directed to with enough specificity to ensure the step one inquiry is meaningful."). Here, the Court finds that claim 1 of the '003 Patent is "directed to" acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects. This formulation flows from the language of the claim. Claim 1 recites a method with four steps: (1) retrieving an image of a person, '003 patent, col. 12:59; (2) performing electronic analysis on the image "to locate an area containing a skin defect," id. , col. 12:60-62; (3) assigning a "numerical severity" to the defect area, id. , col. 12:63-64; and (4) comparing the "numerical severity" to a predefined value for a particular population, id. , col. 12:65-67. The first two steps are consonant with claim 1's preamble, which recites "[a] method for locating one or more visual skin defects of a portion of a person," id. , col. 12:57-58, and form much of the substance of the process. The last two steps go beyond the identification of a skin defect by defining the severity of the defect with a comparative numerical figure. Thus, acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects accurately captures what the "character as a whole" of claim 1 is "directed to." b. Claim 1 of the '003 Patent -Abstract Idea Analysis Having determined the "character as a whole" of claim 1, the Court turns to whether it is directed to an abstract idea. Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1335 (citation omitted). As discussed above, courts will generally compare the claims at issue to prior § 101 cases, as well as consult several guideposts, including: (1) whether the claims are directed to an "improvement to computer functionality"; (2) whether the claims are directed to a "new and useful technique"; (3) whether the claims have an analogy to the brick-and-mortar world; and (4) whether the claims are directed to a mental process or a process that can be performed with a pen and paper. See § II.C, supra. For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that a comparison to prior Federal Circuit cases confirms that claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea. The Court therefore begins with a discussion of prior case law, then turns to Plaintiffs' remaining arguments, which all relate to the "improvement to computer functionality" guidepost. i. Comparison to Case Law As discussed above, courts will generally begin the inquiry by "compar[ing] claims at issue to those claims already found to be directed to an abstract idea in previous cases." Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1334. This analysis alone can be "sufficient." Id. ; see, e.g. , Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2357 (concluding that the claims were directed to an abstract idea because "[i]t is enough to recognize that there is no meaningful distinction between the concept of risk hedging in Bilski and the concept of intermediated settlement at issue here"). Here, the Court finds that what claim 1 is directed to-acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects-falls within the realm of ideas that the Federal Circuit has consistently found to be abstract. In particular, the Federal Circuit has recognized that acquiring, analyzing, and displaying information is an abstract idea. Because information itself is an intangible, amassing information produces an intangible, and applying mathematical algorithms to sort or analyze that information is essentially a mental process. Elec. Power Grp. , 830 F.3d at 1353-54. As a result, both acquiring and analyzing information are regularly treated as within the realm of abstract ideas. Id. Moreover, presenting the results "is abstract as an ancillary part of such collection and analysis." Id. at 1354. In Electric Power Group , the Federal Circuit applied these principles to claims for "detecting ... and automatically analyzing the events on [an] interconnected electric power grid" which involved (1) receiving "time stamped synchronized phasor" data from multiple electric power grid and non-grid sources, (2) using the data to "detect[ ] and analyz[e] events in real-time," and (3) displaying the "event analysis results and diagnoses," including by "concurrent visualization" of two or more types of information. Id. at 1351-52. Although the claims were lengthy and included power-grid-specific limitations, the Federal Circuit found their "character as a whole" was "collecting information, analyzing it, and displaying certain results of the collection and analysis." Id. at 1353. This information-based focus was central to the Federal Circuit's determination that the claims were ineligible for patenting. Id. at 1351. Specifically, the Federal Circuit held that the claims were directed to an abstract idea because "[t]he advance [the claims] purport to make is a process of gathering and analyzing information of a specified content, then displaying the results, and not any particular assertedly inventive technology for performing those functions." Id. at 1354 ; see also In re TLI , 823 F.3d at 610 (holding that method for recording images on a cell phone, transmitting those images to a server, classifying those images, and storing them on the server based on that classification constituted a patent-ineligible abstract idea). More recently, in FairWarning , the Federal Circuit evaluated claims relating to a method of "collect[ing] information regarding accesses of a patient's personal health information, analyz[ing] the information according to one of several rules ... to determine if the activity indicates improper access, and provid[ing] notification if it determines that improper access has occurred." 839 F.3d at 1093. The Federal Circuit held that the claims were directed to an abstract idea because they simply involved "collecting and analyzing information to detect misuse and notifying a user when misuse is detected." Id. at 1094. That conclusion was not altered by the fact that, in ascertaining whether there was improper access, the claims limited the universe of rules to who accessed the information, when that information was accessed, and how much information was accessed. Id. The Federal Circuit explained that the claimed rules-examining who, when, and how much was accessed-replicated the same basic questions "that humans in analogous situations detecting fraud have asked for decades, if not centuries." Id. at 1095. Therefore, the asserted technological improvement sprung not from choosing rules, but instead from using a computer to acquire and analyze the information, and the claims were directed to an abstract idea. Id. Although the substance of claim 1 of the '003 Patent is different from the claims at issue in Electric Power Group and FairWarning , the Court finds that claim 1 presents an analogous situation. As discussed above, claim 1 is directed to acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects. Acquiring a digital image of a person is mere data collection. Analyzing that digital image to locate and quantify the skin defects is simple analysis of that information. Indeed, Plaintiffs' own "character as a whole" formulation admits that claim 1 recites obtaining a "digital image" and performing electronic analysis of the "digital image data " to find skin defects. See Opp. at 23 (emphasis added). Like in Electric Power Group , claim 1 is "clearly focused on the combination of [the] abstract-idea processes" of "gathering and analyzing information of a specified content" and does not identify any particular assertedly inventive technology to perform these functions. 830 F.3d at 1354. Claim 1 is even less descriptive than the claims found abstract in FairWarning . The claims at issue there enumerated the fraud detection rules in the body of the claims. See 839 F.3d at 1092. In contrast here, claim 1 lists the steps of "electronically analyzing" the digital image to locate skin defects, "determining" the defects' severity, and "generating a comparison" to a baseline severity without defining the rules or providing any sense of how to accomplish each of those tasks. See '003 patent, col. 12:60-67. Notably, the last two steps do not indicate that they are accomplished "electronically" and so broadly cover manual determination and comparison of defect severity. Such use of purely functional language is indicative of abstractness. See Elec. Power Group , 830 F.3d at 1356 (noting susceptibility of "claims so result-focused, so functional, as to effectively cover any solution to an identified problem"). Moreover, reference to the specification reinforces that claim 1's analysis steps do no more than "analyz[e] information by steps people go through in their minds, or by mathematical algorithms." Id. at 1354. For example, as to locating the skin defects, the specification identifies that the "defect types" are "located using a variety of known algorithms." '003 patent, col. 8:4-10; see also id. , col. 8:10-18 (providing specific examples of defect location algorithms). As to quantifying the skin defects, the severity measure estimates the "degree to which humans perceive one defect as being 'worse' than another," and the specification does not specify that this function must be performed electronically. Id. , col. 7:67-8:3. However, even when this step is implemented on a computer, quantification proceeds by subtracting the differences between pixel color content or summing the number of pixels and, if warranted, aggregating or normalizing the severity figures. Id. , col. 8:47-9:4. As a general matter, the specification notes that "[s]everal methods for determining an overall skin severity are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art." Id. , col. 9:48-49. In the end, the final severity figure may be compared to another figure indicative of a specific population to obtain a percentile. Id. , col. 8:60-9:14. As the Federal Circuit has explained, "[a] process that start[s] with data, add[s] an algorithm, and end[s] with a new form of data [is] directed to an abstract idea." RecogniCorp, LLC v. Nintendo Co. , 855 F.3d 1322, 1327 (Fed. Cir. 2017). The Court finds unpersuasive Plaintiffs' argument that Research Corp. Technologies v. Microsoft Corp. , 627 F.3d 859 (Fed. Cir. 2010), controls the outcome here. In that case, the Federal Circuit found patent-eligible certain claims related to a process of simulating continuous tone in digital images (called halftoning). Id. at 862. The relevant claim recited "[a] method for the halftoning of gray scale images by utilizing a pixel-by-pixel comparison of the image against a blue noise mask," where the "blue noise mask is comprised of a random non-deterministic, non-white noise single valued function which is designed to produce visually pleasing dot profiles when thresholded at any level of said gray scale images." Id. at 865. The Federal Circuit reasoned that the claims did not fall into the abstract-idea category because they "present[ed] functional and palpable applications in the field of computer technology." Id. at 868. Though the claims incorporated algorithms and formulas, they overcame an identified problem in the prior art "with specific applications or improvements to technologies in the marketplace." Id. at 868-69. Thus, the Federal Circuit concluded that the claims were patent-eligible. Id. at 869. Research Corp. is different than the present case. As a preliminary matter, Research Corp. was decided before the two-step framework was announced in Mayo and Alice , so there is a question whether the outcome in Research Corp. remains good law. To be sure, many of the high-level doctrinal points accurately reflect the current state of § 101 jurisprudence. For example, since Mayo and Alice , the Federal Circuit has repeated Research Corp. 's observation that "inventions with specific applications or improvements to technologies in the marketplace are not likely to be so abstract that they override the statutory language and framework of the Patent Act." BASCOM , 827 F.3d at 1350 (quoting Research Corp. , 627 F.3d at 869 ). On the other hand, some of Research Corp. 's methodology appears outdated. For instance, Research Corp. creates a heightened standard for ineligibility in requiring that the abstract nature of the claims be exhibited "so manifestly as to override the broad statutory categories of eligible subject matter and the statutory context that directs primary attention on the patentability criteria of the rest of the Patent Act." 627 F.3d at 868. Similarly, Research Corp. appears to place significant weight on the fact that the claim incorporated generic computer components-namely, a "memory" and "printer and display devices"-to deem the claims patent-eligible. Id. at 869. At a minimum, because Research Corp. was decided before the two-step Alice framework, it is difficult to ascertain whether the reasoning is more aptly characterized as falling under step one or step two. Regardless of whether Research Corp. is binding, the Court finds that case readily distinguishable from the instant case. In particular, the claims at issue in Research Corp. recited the steps in the process of rendering a halftone image, namely, "comparing, pixel by pixel, the digital image against a blue noise mask." Id. at 868. The claims also defined the features of the mask, which had to be "a random non-deterministic, non-white noise single valued function ... designed to produce visually pleasing dot profiles when thresholded at any level of said gray scale images." Id. at 865. In this way, the claims in Research Corp. purported to cover a defined process, not any process, of rendering a halftone image. Those claims stand in sharp contrast to claim 1, which recites the process of analyzing a digital image to locate and quantify skin defects but not any specific steps to take to accomplish the location and quantification. Indeed, claim 1's quantification steps do not appear to require any particular electronic process at all. While Plaintiffs note that both the claims at issue in Research Corp. and claim 1's electronic analysis step involve "computerized processing of pixelated, binary data of a digital image," Opp. at 23, that comparison is superficial. The same could be said of all digital imaging patents, but the Federal Circuit has already concluded that claims that focus on assembling and manipulating data in the realm of image processing may be patent-ineligible. See Digitech Image Techs., LLC v. Elecs. for Imaging, Inc. , 758 F.3d 1344, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (concluding that the claims at issue were directed to "a process of combining two data sets into a device profile"). Put another way, not every invention that automates a process or employs a computer is patent-eligible. See Credit Acceptance Corp. v. Westlake Servs. , 859 F.3d 1044, 1055 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ("[M]ere automation of manual processes using generic computers does not constitute a patentable improvement in computer technology."). The proper inquiry is not to generalize about classes of claims, but to discern the focus of the claim at issue. For the reasons stated above, claim 1 is directed to acquiring and analyzing information, and thus claim 1 is directed to an abstract idea pursuant to Electric Power Group and FairWarning . ii. Improvement to Computer Functionality Plaintiffs nevertheless contend that claim 1 of the '003 Patent is not directed to an abstract idea because it is instead directed to an "improvement in computer functionality" under Enfish and McRO . Opp. at 23-24. Specifically, Plaintiffs argue that claim 1 is "clearly rooted in computerized processing of pixelated, binary data of a digital image, and tied to the apparatus and specific algorithms described in the specification for that purpose." Id. The Court disagrees. A claim is not abstract if it "improve[s] the functioning of the computer itself" or "improves an existing technological process." Alice , 134 S.Ct. at 2358-59. Thus, Enfish held that it is "relevant to ask whether the claims are directed to an improvement in computer functionality versus being directed to an abstract idea, even at the first step of the Alice analysis." 822 F.3d at 1335. In Enfish , the Federal Circuit held that the claims at issue were directed "to a specific improvement to the way computers operate," in the form of a data structure that used a "self-referential table." Id. at 1336. Rather than simply automating a process using a computer as a tool, the claims involved "a specific type of data structure designed to improve the way a computer stores and retrieves data in memory." Id. at 1339. Similarly, in McRO , the Federal Circuit held that a method for automating the animation of lip movement and facial expressions, which replaced an animator's subjective evaluation with automated rules, was not a patent-ineligible abstract idea. 837 F.3d at 1313-16. The Federal Circuit reasoned that because the method involved "a specific asserted improvement in computer animation, i.e., the automatic use of rules of a particular type," it did not just use a computer "as a tool to automate conventional activity" but instead constituted an improvement to an existing technological process itself. Id. at 1314. However, the Federal Circuit has noted that "[a] patent may issue 'for the means or method of producing a certain result, or effect, and not for the result or effect produced.' " Id. at 1314 (quoting Diehr , 450 U.S. at 182 n.7, 101 S.Ct. 1048 ). Accordingly, the Federal Circuit has declined to find that a case falls under the principles of Enfish and McRO when "the claimed invention is entirely functional in nature." See, e.g. , Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. DIRECTV, LLC , 838 F.3d 1253, 1258 (Fed. Cir. 2016), cert. denied , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1596, 197 L.Ed.2d 736 (2017). Generally, claims that contain improvements in computer functionality, and thus are patentable under Enfish and McRO , include instructions on "how to implement" the abstract idea. Id. Here, the Court finds that the character of the asserted claims is not itself an improvement in the technology used for acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects. In both Enfish and McRO , the character of the claim as a whole was itself a technological advance that improved computer functionality. See McRO , 837 F.3d at 1314 (character of claim was an improved means of performing computer animation); Enfish , 822 F.3d at 1335 (character of the claim was an improved database structure). Here, the process of acquiring and analyzing a digital image of a person to locate and quantify skin defects does not improve the functioning of a computer. This conclusion is underscored by the fact that claim 1 of the '003 Patent is described in functional terms. As noted above, claim 1 recites a process that acquires an image of a person, analyzes that image to find areas containing skin defects, and then quantifies the severity of the defects and relates the severity to a particular population. '003 patent, col. 12:59-67. The claim does not indicate or provide details about how to carry out the analysis to locate the defects or enumerate their severity; claim 1 simply describes the "effect or result," not the "specific means or method" of producing the desired result. Two-Way Media Ltd. v. Comcast Cable Commc'ns, LLC , 874 F.3d 1329, 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (citing McRO , 837 F.3d at 1314 ); RecogniCorp , 855 F.3d at 1326 (same); Affinity Labs , 838 F.3d at 1258 (noting that the claims did not designate "how to implement" the abstract idea). That is, claim 1 describes that a digital image of a person will be acquired and analyzed but does not describe how those processes will function or focus on any particular tool that achieves the desired result. Accordingly, the Court finds that claim 1 of the '003 Patent is directed to an abstract idea because claim 1 is analogous to claims found to be directed to an abstract idea in prior Federal Circuit cases and claim 1 does not recite improvements in computer functionality. 2. Alice Step One for Claims 2-4, 8, and 11-14 of the '003 Patent -Whether the Claims Are Directed to an Abstract Idea Having determined that claim 1 of the '003 Patent is directed to an abstract idea, the Court turns to the claims that depend on claim 1 (claims 2-4, 8, and 11-14) to determine whether they too are directed to abstract ideas. Plaintiffs do not provide any additional analysis for claims 2-4, 8, and 11-12 beyond the one paragraph at the end of their opposition that the Court has already rejected in its analysis of claim 1. See Opp. at 23-24. Nevertheless, the Court provides an overview of all of these claims. The Court first addresses claims 2, 3, and 12; then addresses claims 4, 8, and 11; and finally addresses claim 13 and 14. a. Claims 2-3 and 12 Claims 2, 3, and 12 all depend on claim 1. All three claims introduce additional steps for accomplishing one portion of what claim 1 is directed to: analyzing the digital image to quantify skin defects. As such, claims 2, 3, and 12 clarify this aspect of claim 1 and do not substantially shift its "character as a whole." Indeed, the Court's observations regarding how claim 1 is directed to the process of acquiring and analyzing information also hold true for claims 2, 3, and 12, as the additional steps in these claims fit the same paradigm. For example, the step of "electronically analyzing the first digital image of the face of the person to determine an overall skin characteristic" in claim 12 is very similar to the informational analysis step of "determining a first numerical severity associated with the area containing the skin defect" in claim 1. See '003 patent, col. 12:57-67, 13:57-60. Accordingly, the "character as a whole" of claims 2, 3, and 12 is substantially the same as claim 1, and they are directed to an abstract idea for the same reasons. b. Claims 4, 8, and 11 Claim 4 depends on claim 1, and claims 8 and 11 both depend on claim 4. Claim 4 introduces additional steps for electronically creating and displaying a second digital image that shows the defect ar