FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 25, 2007
Contact: Richard B. Racine 202.408.4038
Managing Partner
Federal Circuit Restricts Patent Protection
Available to Business Methods and Signal Claims
Under 35 U.S.C. § 101
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP announced today that in two decisions issued September 20, 2007, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit limited the reach of patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101, which permits patenting “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.” In In re Comiskey, the Court held that claims reciting business methods can be patented only if a claimed process involves another class of statutory subject matter, such as a computer. In In re Nuijten, the Court held that a signal is unpatentable subject matter because “transitory electrical and electromagnetic signals propagating through some medium” do not fall within a statutory category of patentable subject matter.
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With more than 375 intellectual property lawyers, Finnegan is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Washington, DC; Atlanta, Georgia; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Palo Alto, California; Reston, Virginia; Brussels, Belgium; Shanghai, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tokyo, Japan, the firm practices all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation. Finnegan also represents clients on IP issues related to international trade, portfolio management, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com.
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