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ARTICLE · 03 JUNE 2024

Is Your Blockchain Invention Patentable?

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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Blockchain is becoming central to more FinTech patent portfolios than ever – but it's harder to obtain protection on blockchain than most other technologies.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Frank L. Gerratana
Frank L. Gerratana
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Blockchain is becoming central to more FinTech patent portfolios than ever – but it's harder to obtain protection on blockchain than most other technologies. The US Supreme Court's decision in Alice v. CLS Bank (2014) strengthened limits on what subject matter is eligible for patent protection under 35. U.S.C. §101. Today's software-based technologies do not always pass Alice's multi-part test for excluding "abstract ideas" from patentability. Enterprises developing blockchain technology are often left with questions as to whether their core inventions can be protected. This article explains our approach to answering these questions.

The good news is that well-drafted blockchain patent applications can and do pass muster at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). In the last ten years, almost 14,000 blockchain-based patent applications have been filed, and almost 10,000 blockchain-based patents have been issued.

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