In Re Bilski Blog

U.S. Solicitor General urges Supreme Court to affirm the Bilski decision

In a brief filed on Friday, September 25, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and her staff said that because a patent application filed by inventors Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw related solely to human conduct, untethered to any technology, it was not process eligible.

However, the government never really claims that the Bilski test should be the only test. Instead, they're focusing on the fact that human endeavors by themselves may not be appropriate for protection. The Solicitor General's brief didn't contain any ringing endorsement of, 'Oh, the Federal Circuit was absolutely right.'

In fact, it's a narrower brief than one might have seen if the government really loved the machine-or-transformation test. Perhaps this is because the Federal Circuit has been chastised several times by the Supreme Court in recent years for giving us tests that are too rigid.

New Director Kappos to Address IPO at Annual Meeting

On September 14, the new Director of the USPTO, David Kappos, will address the IP Owners Association at its annual meeting.  Kappos is widely expected to address changes he intends to implement now that he has been confirmed in his new position.  It will be interesting to see whether he chooses to comment on the likely position of the Government in the Bilski case.  The Government's brief is due at the end of September.