Bilski v. Kappos, the end of the 'Machine or Transformation Test'?
By Kenneth Choy, Partner, Intellectual Property, King & Wood - Hong Kong
Last month, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the closely followed case of Bilski v. Kappos, 08-964. The case concerns a patent application for hedging risk in commodities trading. Both the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected the claims. In reaching its decision, the Federal Circuit ruled that to be eligible for a patent, a process claim must be tied to a particular machine or it must transform an article into a different state or thing. The court said that this ‘machine or transformation’ test is the only test for determining patent eligibility of process claims.
Continue Reading...