Supreme Court Justices Give Software Patents a Pass, Zero In on Business Methods

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, a case concerning patent eligibility for computer-implemented abstract ideas. Finnegan partner Linda J. Thayer attended the argument, and provided commentary to Forbes, noting that the outcome is still uncertain. “I don’t think anybody thinks they are going to make all software patents ineligible,” she said. “And I wouldn’t have told you yesterday they were in favor of getting rid of all business method patents, either. But they may go that far.”