Anthony J Fuga is a Partner in Holland &
Knight's
Chicago office.
Joel E Roberson is Partner in Holland & Knight's
Washington D.C. office
Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), along with
Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), and Steve Stivers
(R-Ohio), have unveiled a bipartisan and bicameral framework on
Section 101 patent reform. The framework, released last week, is
short – only one page – but the intent is clear: temper
the Section 101-based rejections and invalidations that have
skyrocketed since the Supreme Court's 2014 Alice
decision.
For instance, the framework would define an exclusive set of
categories of statutory subject matter that alone should not be
eligible for patent protection, and "statutorily abrogate
judicially created exceptions to patent eligible subject
matter." The framework would also "create a
'practical application' test to ensure that the statutorily
ineligible subject matter is construed narrowly."
