As expected, the Supreme Court will be taking a look at business process patents. As the New York Times reports, the Supreme Court decided yesterday to review the Appeals Court ruling in re Bilski on the patentability of business processes. Needless to say, this is a big deal (for more back ground, see earlier postings). Those who support business process patent strongly pushed for the review, as the Appeals Court limited such patents. But the fact that the Court agreed to review the case does not necessarily mean that the Justices are leaning toward overturning the case. This Court has been more than willing to step into the policy vacuum created by Congress's inability to deal with patent reform.
One other wildcard. By the time the case is heard, the Court will likely have a new Justice. The reviews of Judge Sonia Sotomayor experience with patent law has been mixed. Some view her experience as limited, especially as an appeals court judge. Others point to her earlier years as commercial lawyer where she had a number of IP cases. It will be interesting to see if any of this comes up in the confirmation hearings.
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