Federal Circuit Restricts Patent Protection of Business Methods
The Federal Circuit on Thursday issued a rare full-court opinion in a closely watched case, ruling 9-3 that business methods or processes cannot be patented unless they are tied to a machine or involve a physical transformation. The case could impact the explosive growth in such patents. The three judges who dissented didn't agree with each other either. One judge argued that the majority did not go far enough in restricting business-method patents and the other two argued for a more lenient standard.
