The Supreme Court’s decision in Bilski was a welcome relief for the business, software, and medical diagnostic industries. Yet the Supreme Court has provided very little guidance on how to patent business, software, and medical diagnostics patents other than stating that an abstract business method is not patentable and that the method must include more than technological limitations or insignificant post-solution activity.
In the aftermath of Bilski, now more than ever, a practitioner needs to understand what structure or process makes a post-solution activity not insignificant. For software patents, it is no longer enough to tie the software to a computer or the internet. Software claims should recite computer architecture specially programmed and recite data representing physical and tangible and not abstract objects. For diagnostic method patents, claims should recite determining chemical levels by other than visual inspection and not rely on naturally occurring samples for patentability; rather reciting transformation of biological samples.
To help you better protect your patents, Juhasz Burge PC is happy to make available a Special Edition of the Juhasz Burge PC Advisory entitled Juhasz Burge PC’s 20 Claim Drafting Tips – For Patenting Business, Software, and Medical Diagnostic Methods in the Aftermath of The Bilski Decision. This Special Edition of the Juhasz Burge PC Advisory was released on a limited basis on July 17, 2010.
Hope you find these drafting tips useful in your practice.
Your patents may be your most important asset. To help you protect your patents contact Juhasz Burge PC, the firm committed to Positioning Your Patent Beyond The Horizon℠.
Posted by Paul R. Juhasz, President