Supreme Court Skeptical of Business Method Patents – Dorsey & Whitney LLP

SUMMARY. At the well-attended argument of In re Bilski before the Supreme Court yesterday, the Justices expressed skepticism over the patent-eligibility of business methods, suggesting that such methods have not historically been considered patentable and should not be now. Several of the Justices also expressed concern that the Federal Circuit’s “machine or transformation” test for patent-eligibility is too restrictive and may inadvertently exclude future inventions. Thus, both sides were pressed to articulate a different test, and the suggested alternatives proposed by both sides did not seem to satisfy the Court.

Adriana S. Luedke

Read the full article here. http://www.dorsey.com/ip_patent_eupdate_luedke_nov09/