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Bilski Matter Heard by U.S. Supreme Court
On November 9, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments in Bilski v. Kappos, a patent dispute that has already (at the Court of Appeal level) changed the U.S. laws of patentability. This is a final appeal from refusals of the patent board and lower courts to grant Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw a patent for their method of hedging risk in energy transactions. The Court of Appeal overturned the long standing test from the State Street decision, which permitted business method patents for “useful, concrete and tangible” results, and replaced it with a so-called “machine-or-transformation” test. This new test may restrict the patentability of software-related inventions, as a process will only be patentable if it is "tied to a particular machine or apparatus" or if it "transforms a particular article into a different state or thing." There is a risk that by affirming this new test, the U.S. Supreme Court may limit the patentability of innovation in the fields of medical research and software. The patent community is eagerly awaiting what is expected to be a landmark decision, to be rendered sometime in 2010.
For additional information, visit:
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSTRE5A857L20091109
http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_13737324?nclick_check=1.