Subject Matter Eligibility of Business Methods: Surviving 35 U.S.C. § 101

The CLE course will guide patent counsel on business method patents and subject matter eligibility, examining guidance from the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit as well as the USPTO. The panel will offer best practices for drafting patents to improve the chances of success and to survive § 101 challenges.

The Federal Circuit's State Street Bank decision in 1998 confirmed the subject matter eligibility of business methods by addressing the so-called business method exception: "[w]e take this opportunity to lay this ill-conceived exception to rest." Thereafter, the floodgates opened for business method patents. The industry held many conferences devoted exclusively to business method patents and the patent world was abuzz with activity. 

Then, two Supreme Court cases, Bilski (2010) and Alice (2014), struck down business method patents, and the Federal Circuit followed suit. Since Alice, the Federal Circuit has not found one business method patent valid under § 101. However, the USPTO continues to issue business method patents, thus creating a large chasm between the Federal Circuit and the patent office. Inventors with business method applications and patents are left wondering, "What do I do?" 

Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines Federal Circuit case law and USPTO guidance addressing business method eligibility.