Texas Lawyer Article: HP&C’s Blaine Larson analyzes recent Federal Circuit decisions shaping the Section 101 patent eligibility landscape
While the U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to consider three closely watched patent eligibility appeals, recent decisions by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit are providing valuable guidance regarding patent eligibility under Section 101, Heim, Payne & Chorush Partner Blaine Larson writes in an analysis published by Texas Lawyer magazine.
The article, “Federal Circuit Steps in Where Supreme Court Declines to Tread,” outlines the patent eligibility landscape shaped by recent Federal Circuit decisions that have fleshed out Alice while working within the confines of its two-part test.
Larson writes:
“Given that seven of the nine justices from Alice remain on the court, it seems unlikely Alice will be overturned any time soon. Instead, eligibility law will likely continue to be shaped by gradual pushback from the Federal Circuit and district courts. Moving forward, I do not expect to see significant movement from the Federal Circuit on step one, primarily because the question of whether a particular claim is directed to an abstract idea cannot be simplified into a succinct, universally applicable holding. Step two is more ripe for change because it involves a question of fact, and the issue of how to treat fact questions lends itself to more generally applicable holdings… Until the Supreme Court addresses eligibility again, expect the Federal Circuit to continue incrementally shaping step two law.”