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ARTICLE · 11 AUGUST 2010

Recent Changes in Patent Eligibility Will Impact the Securities and Banking Industries

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Two important recent events are likely to impact the patenting of inventions related to the securities and banking industries.

United StatesFinance and Banking
David Luettgen
David Luettgen
Kathryn Trkla
Kathryn Trkla
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Two important recent events are likely to impact the patenting of inventions related to the securities and banking industries. First, on June 28, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in Bilski v. Kappos (http://tinyurl.com/24qhdmo). The Bilski decision is the Supreme Court's most recent statement on what types of inventions are eligible to receive patents. For a detailed discussion of the Bilski opinion, please see our Legal News Alert at http://tinyurl.com/37d75bs. Second, on July 27, in response to the Bilski decision, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) updated its guidelines for evaluating patent applications on subject matter eligibility. The guidelines, which provide concrete insight on how the USPTO will treat specific types of patent applications, are available online at http://tinyurl.com/3ah98xr.

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