

US appeals court rejects business method patents - lnguyen
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN3026126020081030?rpc=44

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muerdeme
"[T]he Federal Circuit said the patent application in question -- a method for
reducing the risk of sudden changes in energy costs -- was not a machine and
did not result in a transformation." (FTA)

The article seems to say the method is not a machine, which doesn't make much
sense. Business method patents are still allowable if the process "is tied to
a particular machine or apparatus."

See here for more background: <http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/10/in-re-
bilski.html>

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mattmaroon
This is just all around good.

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Alex3917
I'd say the chances that SCOTUS will review this are pretty good, and I wonder
whether it will hold. The idea that a method can't be a machine is pretty
tenuous.

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mattmaroon
It's certainly worthy of their time.

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bradgessler
I remember hearing about "business method patents" a few years back when I was
still working at Deloitte Consulting. They positioned it at this huge win and
I didn't see how it was going to work. I'm really happy to see that it didn't.

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JacobAldridge
The Value of an idea is in its application.

Patenting a good idea prevents others from applying that idea to create value.

This is a good ruling for those of us who want to create value, not just sit
around coming up with ideas.

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petergroverman
Interesting...

