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By Inam Ali

Court case may change US Patent Law

The case IN RE BERNARD L. BILSKI and RAND A. WARSAW (2007-1130 / Serial No. 08/833,892) is currently before the US Court of Appeal. Its outcome could have a significant impact on patents involving ideas that relate to business methods.

In US patent law a patentable invention is defined as "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof."

The definition has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to include "anything under the sun that is made by man."

In the past courts have viewed business processes as unpatentable. But the pending decision in the In re Bilski case could either eliminate or curtail the patentability of business methods.

One of the issues the Court of Appeal will consider is what standard should be used to determine whether an idea or mental process is eligible as a patent.

Most intellectual property experts say that the effect of the decision will primarily affect those businesses that are either online in nature or in the financial sector, such as tax planning and commodity risk management.

An example of an original idea successfully patented is that of Amazon's one-click process used on its websites, which it was granted in 1999 as "a Method and System for Placing a Purchase Order Via a Communications Network."

There are a lot of broad business methods out there which some individuals and companies claim as their own original ideas.

However such patent protection, critics argue, has a negative effect on businesses stifling innovation and economic efficiency. Those backing the decision argue it does the opposite.

The Court is expected to issue a decision before the end of the year and we will be watching with great interest.

Inam Ali is a Solicitor specialising in Commercial and Intellectual Property law and he can be contacted via email at inam.ali@lawdit.co.uk