International Business Machines Corporation v. The Priceline Group Inc., et al., C.A. No. 15-137-LPS-CJB, August 18, 2015.

Burke, M. J.  Defendants’ motion to stay pending resolution of defendants’ motion to dismiss based on patent ineligibility is granted in part and denied in part.

The case is in its infancy and no schedule has yet been entered.  The parties are not competitors and there is no evidence of an inappropriate tactical advantage tied to the motion.  Plaintiff's argument that it will be prejudiced as a result of the negative impact on licensing efforts is not particularly strong. A delay in the resolution of the case could be significant enough to plaintiff’s detriment.  This is a close call and requires a middle ground solution. The court permits the exchange of initial disclosures and postpones further discovery until the motion to dismiss is decided.  A limited schedule is put into place.