The SmartGene Case - Decision-Making Is Not Patentable

Recently, a district court for the District of Columbia invalidated a patent claiming a system and method to guide the selection of therapeutic treatments using a computer program. See SmartGene v. Advanced Biological Laboratories, No. 1:08-CV-0642 (BAH), 2012 WL 1059611, ___ F. Supp. 2d ___ (D.D.C., March 30, 2012). The court ruled that the patent claims were abstract and not patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, see id. at *18, because they are "merely a recitation of abstract steps, rather than an innovation that adds something 'specific to the laws of nature [or abstract ideas] other than what is well-understood, routine, conventional activity, previously engaged in by those in the field.'" Id. at *10 (quoting Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., __ U.S. __, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 1299 (2012)).