Federal Circuit Announces Patent Eligibility Test Affecting “Business Method” Inventions

The Federal Circuit recently handed down the long-awaited In re Bilski opinion, which has broad implication on the patentability of "business method" inventions. The Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, affirmed the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences' (BPAI) rejection of Bilski's invention relating to a method for managing risk in commodity trading. In doing so, the Court announced a two-prong "machine or transformation" test to determine whether a method claim is eligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. According to the test, a claimed process is patentable under § 101 if: (1) it is tied to a particular machine or apparatus; or (2) it transforms a particular article into a different state or thing. The court emphasized that this is the sole test to determine patentability under § 101 and deemed other tests invalid. Most notably, the Federal Circuit overruled the "useful, concrete and tangible result" test that was followed in the State Street Bank deci