This article discusses the upcoming Federal Circuit en banc argument in CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp. on February 8. Many experts and technology leaders are closely following the case for clarity on patentability for software and business methods. Finnegan partner Erika Arner noted that the manner in which the Federal Circuit framed the questions presented on appeal, such as “what test should the court adopt to determine whether a computer-implemented invention is a patent-ineligible abstract idea,” supports the notion that the court is concerned with clarity. Arner also cautioned that under Section 101, “it’s tough to come up with a bright-line standard that’s also flexible enough to allow for inventions we haven’t even thought of yet.”
