Current Developments in Patentable Subject Matter
Under 35 U.S.C. § 101 - in the Courts and at the USPTO
January 27, 2012
This page presents noteworthy cases and developments in the courts and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). As they are announced, rules, rulemaking packages, and other developments of interest at the USPTO will also be reported. Items are presented by forum, in reverse chronological order, with new entries appearing first.
New: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DealerTrack, Inc. v. Huber, No. 2009-1566 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 20, 2011) (Linn (author), Plager (concurring in part and dissenting in part), Dyk, JJ.). The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling that claims of U.S. Pat. No. 7,181,427, for a “computer aided method of managing a credit application,” are ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101, because they recite “an abstract idea preemptive of a fundamental concept or idea that would foreclose innovation in this area.” Slip op at 35.