Friday, 31 October 2008

Court Of Appeal for Federal Circuit (CAFC) declined business model patents

In a significant decision today, CAFC in hearing en banc decision thwarted attempt to patent business model patents, a request by applicant Bilski et al. In the hearing en banc decision 3 judges (Judge Newman, Radar, Mayer) opposed the decison.

The court upheld Board of Patent Appeals (BPAI) decision that Bilski et al’s claimed invention (a method of hedging risks in commodities trading) does not satisfy the patentable subject matter requirementsas per 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Court also concluded that a claimed process is patentable under § 101 if:

(A) it is tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or

(B) it transforms a particular article into a different state or thing.

(As per earlier ruling of supreme court)

Court concluded that claimed invention In Re Bilski fails in above tests, hence, not patantable

Opinion of court

Impact on Indian industry

Although, the above decision was hailed by many software companies in US but in India, which is a major outsourcing hub for IT related work, the companies are not happy with the court's decision. Economic times has reviewed the impact of this decision on Indian IT industry Here

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Disclaimer: "IP Pharma Doc" blog is published for information purpose only. "IP Pharma Doc" blog contains no legal advice. I assume no legal responsibility for the views/information expressed here. “IP Pharma Doc” blog is my personal website and not edited by my employer, accordingly, no part of my blog should be attributed to my employer. All information on the present blog should be double checked for its accuracy and applicability. © Dr. Sarwal (2007)
 
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