As its name suggests, a business method patent grants to its holder exclusive rights to a particular way of doing business. Until recently, it was widely assumed that business methods were not ...

Maybe you are of a sufficient vintage to remember the game show Let's Make a Deal. But have you ever thought about the similarities between that show and the U.S. patent system? In the game show, ...

To us, there's something oddly comforting when the Supreme Court justices all appear on the same page in a case; when Justice Scalia's comments echo Justice Breyer's, which, in turn, echo Chief ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected on Monday an effort to patent a way to hedge energy costs, but declined to shut the door on business method patents, saying the ...

A U.S. appeals court has rejected patenting a way to smooth energy costs in a closely watched decision that could narrow the scope of "business method" patents. The case turned on whether an inventor ...

On November 9 2009, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in In re Bilski, a case that will likely impact whether business methods, already patented and to be patented, are eligible for patent ...

At long last, business-method patents will have their moment in the spotlight. The Supreme Court on Monday will take up the issue, holding arguments in the In Re Bilski case, which has been on our ...

The prevailing wisdom for some years has been that, generally, the US permits the patenting of business methods and that the EPO does not. In fact, this view has not been correct for some time now.

Imagine receiving a letter from a company offering to let you license a patent covering a computer-related business method for $50,000. Should you pay it? What if the company claims that its patent ...