In a long awaited decision, the US Supreme Court has finally spoken, as to what is and what is not a patentable item. The US Supreme Court upheld the decision by the Federal Circuit stating that you could not patent a business method process. While this may be good news for those who have inventions, it is a sad day for those creative people with useful business methods and processes. So, if you thought you’d get a patent for that brilliant business process you came up with, you’re out of luck.
In a prior decision, the Federal Circuit Court (the court which most often hears patent cases) held that a process could be patentable under the US Patent Act, 35 U. S. C. §101—if the invention produced a “useful, concrete, and tangible result…. (See, e.g., State Street Bank & Trust Co v. Signature Financial Group, Inc., 149 F. 3d 1368, 1373). Then, that same court rejected its own prior test for determining whether a process is patentable, and held instead that a process is patent eligible if one of two things occurred:
1. it is tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or
2. it transforms a particular article into a different state or thing.
With this being the new legal test for whether a process or business method is patent eligible, it will be almost impossible for any business owner with a creative process to have that process protected by a patent.
If you are interest in reading the full Supreme Court opinion, here is the citation and the link is below:
BILSKI ET AL. v. KAPPOS, UNDER SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND DIRECTOR, PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE ||| CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT — No. 08–964. Argued November 9, 2009—Decided June 28, 2010
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-964.pdf