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Patent-Eligible Subject Matter Legal History

Patent-Eligible Subject Matter refers to the types of inventions that can be legally patented. The criteria for patentability varies depending on the jurisdiction. In the United States, for instance, if a... more +
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter refers to the types of inventions that can be legally patented. The criteria for patentability varies depending on the jurisdiction. In the United States, for instance, if a researcher discovers a naturally occurring substance, the substance itself cannot be patented. This issue was examined in a United States Supreme Court case, AMP v. Myriad, in regard to the patentability of human genes.  less -
McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Federal Circuit Finds Calculating Machine Ineligible

August 23, 1891 - WASHINGTON, DC - In a unanimous panel ruling, the Federal Circuit has found that the calculating machine of U.S. Patent No. 388,116 fails to meet the eligibility requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 101.  Inventor...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

What is an Abstract Idea, Anyway?

In 2014's Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int'l case, Justice Thomas famously wrote, "we need not labor to delimit the precise contours of the 'abstract ideas' category in this case."  Instead, he found the claims of patentee Alice...more

Smart & Biggar

The Best of the Decade – Canadian Patent Law in the 2010s

Smart & Biggar on

The 2010s saw many developments in Canadian patent law.  Establishment of a trade agreement with the European Union, ratification of an international IP treaty, implementation of a national IP strategy, and other domestic...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

The Patent Office Clarifies the Ban on Patenting Naturally-Derived Drugs and Other Products

Since the very beginning of America’s revolutionary patent system, inventors in the life sciences have been granted patents for discovering and purifying natural products. It was taken as a given that a purified natural...more

K&L Gates LLP

What Is Next for Software Patents?

K&L Gates LLP on

Over the past few weeks, the United States federal courts and the patent office have issued several significant decisions addressing the patent subject matter eligibility of software-related inventions in the United States....more

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