Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S.Ct. 3218 (2010) Notes
From Bill Goodwine's Wiki
Supreme Court of the United States
patent application for method of hedging risk in field of commodities trading in the energy market
- claimed invention that explains how commodities buyers and sellers in the energy market can protect, or hedge, against the risk of price changes.
- describes a series of steps instructing how to hedge risk
- places the claim 1 concept into a simple mathematical formula
lack of patent-eligible subject matter
- invention is not implemented on a specific apparatus, merely manipulates an abstract idea, and solves a purely mathematical problem
- The Federal Circuit, in turn, affirmed
- State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc - a claimed process is patent eligible if:
- it is tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or
- it transforms a particular article into a different state or thing
