28 February 2008
To date, the US Patent Office has allowed many patents to business methods which would be refused by other patent offices as relating to a method which is not eligible for patent protection.
On 15 February 2008, it was announced that the en banc Federal Circuit will review the standards for determining whether a process is eligible for patent protection in the US. En banc orders are rare and it means that the appeal will be heard by the entire twelve judge court as opposed to the usual three judge panel. Previous US case law, which is fundamental to the US Patent Office's interpretation of business methods that are eligible for patent protection such as the State Street Bank decision, may be overruled depending on the outcome.
The case which has sparked this review is Bilski and Warsaw's patent application which relates to a method for managing the consumption risk costs of a commodity sold by a commodity provider.
The en banc hearing is scheduled for 8 May 2008. Watch this space for updates. back
