Appeals Court To Rehear 'Business Methods' Patent Case

Wed. May 7, 2008


Judiciary. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals' rehearing of a high-profile "business methods patent" dispute Thursday has about a 60 percent chance of reaching the Supreme Court if the panel rules against the Patent and Trademark Office, a lawyer slated to argue before the court said at a briefing today. Critics say the PTO wants to strictly define and compartmentalize innovations to determine patentability. John Duffy, whose client Regulatory Datacorp filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, said "It has been a while since the [Supreme] Court looked at a patentable subject matter decision." If the U.S. government wins, however, the case would have a 1-2 percent chance of reaching the high court, he predicted. At issue is the PTO's rejection of an application by an inventor who tried to patent what some view as an abstract idea. The court invited amicus briefs on the larger issue of whether a pair of cases that paved the way for business-method patents should be reconsidered. A decision by the Federal Circuit Court could take four to nine months, Duffy said.