Are Some Method Patents Going Out Of Business? The Federal Circuit Sua Sponte Orders En Banc Hearing In In Re Bilski

摘要

Signaling its interest in further clarifying the appropriate standard for assessing whether business methods pass statutory muster, the Federal Circuit sua sponte ordered a hearing on the case of In re Bilski en bane on May 8, 2008. The court instructed the parties to file supplemental briefing on five questions related to whether a business method is patent-eligible subject matter and invited amici briefs to be filed by April 7, 2008. The Federal Circuit's action is surprising because it comes less than five months after sua sponte taking up the same issue in In re Comiskey, and suggests that the court is unsatisfied with the Comiskey decision.