U.S. Appeals Judges Quiz Lawyers on Rules for Patenting Software

On February 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard arguments on software patentability in an en banc rehearing of CLS Bank International v. Alice Corp. Many in the software industry are looking to the case to “determine parameters for software patent protection.” Finnegan partner Erika Arner, who was present at the rehearing, said “I think everyone walked out of the room with the thought that there's a real difference of opinion from those judges.” A divided decision could send CLS Bank to the U.S. Supreme Court.