Insights

A recent Federal Circuit decision provides a reminder that even in the mechanical arts, where terms have generally understood and accepted meanings, it remains important to avoid use of claim terms that may lead to ambiguity, and to otherwise include a description of the subject matter intended to be encompassed by such terms.

On June 22, 2023, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 (“the Bill”), aiming to restore patent eligibility to important inventions across many fields.  Essentially, the Bill is trying to eliminate judicial exceptions to patent eligibility, and provide clear guidance on determining patent eligibility, especially in areas such as medical diagnostics, biotechnology, personalized medicine, artificial intelligence, 5G, and blockchain.  The U.S. Supreme Court has established several judicial exceptions to subject matter eligible for patenting.  Although these exceptions are not enumerated in the statute, the Supreme Court has interpreted 35 U.S.C. § 101 to exclude subject matter from being patented if it falls within any of three areas:  natural phenomena, laws of nature and abstract ideas.  Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014).  These judicial exceptions frustrate many IP owners around the world, because many inventions that are eligible for patents in other countries cannot be patented in the U.S. or are ruled invalid in U.S. courts.  Moreover, supporters of this bill argue that leading-edge technologies that give U.S. industry competitive advantages over foreign companies have been difficult to patent in the U.S. under the Court’s rulings.  This legislation reportedly has a good chance to pass in this Congressional session, and companies need to be prepared for the dramatic changes if it becomes law.