Should § 101 Legislation Include An Extension Or Revamp Of The CBM Program?

Is the little-used CBM patent review program the key to passage of § 101 legislation?

Congress is currently considering legislation to drastically alter the patent eligibility statute, 35 U.S.C. § 101.

The unabashed intent of the proposed legislation is to expand what is patentable under § 101, and a draft bill would expressly abrogate any case that has interpreted the "abstract idea" exception and the other judicially-created exceptions to patent-eligible subject matter.

Supporters believe a re-work of § 101 is critically necessary because the courts are interpreting the current statute too narrowly, resulting in greatly decreased research, development, and innovation in areas like medical diagnostics and artificial intelligence. Opponents argue, however, that expanding § 101 patent-eligible subject matter will result in a resurgence of weak patents and nuisance-value patent infringement suits.