US Supreme Court To Rule On Business Method Patents

The United States Supreme Court, the nation’s highest court, has decided to review a case involving patenting of business methods, which could have a significant impact on the future of patenting. On 30 October 2008, the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals – often called the country’s “patent court” – issued its decision in In re Bilski. In the face of an explosion of business method patents, the Federal Circuit’s ruling reevaluated when a process is patentable, replacing the current legal standard with a traditional test that significantly narrows the scope of patentable subject matter. The US Patent and Trademark Office had originally rejected a patent application by inventor Bernard Bilski, who sought to patent a method of using hedge contracts in commodities trading.

For an analysis of and documents from the Bilski decision from an international perspective, see (IPW, IP Law, 6 November 2008, and IPW, IP Law, 15 May 2008).