The Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Bilski v. Kappos today. I will provide a detailed analysis of the ruling and its implications for the future of patent law in a subsequent post. Here is a brief summary of the high points:
* Bilski’s patent application for a method of hedging risk in commodities trading was properly rejected because the invention was nothing more than abstract principles and formulae, which are not subject matter eligible for patenting according to prior Supreme Court decisions.
* The Federal Circuit was incorrect in holding that the machine-or-transformation test is the exclusive standard for defining the patent eligibility of a “process.”
* There is no reason to exclude categorically business methods from the scope of patent eligible subject matter. A business method can be a patentable “process” if it meets the other statutory requirements for patenting (novelty, usefulness, etc.).