PTAB Expands Definition Of "Covered Business Method"

The PTAB recently held that patent claims need not "particularly target the financial industry" in order to qualify as a "covered business method" under Section 18 of the America Invents Act (AIA). Symphony Health Solutions Corp. v. IMS Health, Inc., Case CBM2015-00085 (Patent 8,473,452 B1) (PTAB Sept. 10, 2015). Rather, it is enough that the "challenged claims recite a system and method used in the practice, administration, or management of financial services and products."

At issue are claims to a system and method that "de-identifies health care records." Essentially, the system takes patient records from a health care database, removes the information in the patient's record that particularly identifies the patient - i.e. "de-identifying" the name, address, SSN, etc., and then uses the de-identified record to generate reports on the market trends and shifts, sales force targeting, and demographic, among other things.