Supreme Court of the United States
Bernard L. Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw v. David J. Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellect — Breyer, J…
June 28, 2010177 L. Ed. 2d 792
Summary
The Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit's judgment that the petitioners' method of managing commodity risk is not patent‑eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101 because it is a general business method and an abstract idea. The Court emphasized that the machine‑or‑transformation test is a useful clue but not the exclusive test, and that Congress’s 1999 Act does not expand §101. Justice Stevens filed a separate concurrence disagreeing with the majority’s statutory interpretation approach.