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ARTICLE · 11 NOVEMBER 2010

Business Method Bonanza! - US Supreme Court Ruling on Patentability Requirements

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The patent community has waited with bated breath for the US Supreme Court to hand down its ruling in relation to what should and should not be patentable. Would business methods survive? What about software? Would medical diagnostic methods get a reprieve? Well, the wait is now over.

AustraliaIntellectual Property
Matthew Ward (Formerly With Shelston IP)
Matthew Ward (Formerly With Shelston IP)
Jack Redfern
Jack Redfern
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The patent community has waited with bated breath for the US Supreme Court to hand down its ruling in relation to what should and should not be patentable. Would business methods survive? What about software? Would medical diagnostic methods get a reprieve? Well, the wait is now over.

In a nutshell, the Supreme Court saw it inappropriate to read into the legislation any implicit limitations on what should and should not be patentable. The general position is that, provided an invention is not simply an "abstract idea", it should not be excluded from patentability simply because it is not limited to a machine or article.

Accordingly, the recent decision provides a great sense of relief to those with a vested interest in validity of patents for computer systems, software and diagnostic methods. And those with views aligned more at the "open source" end of the spectrum will not have been so impressed.

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