Supreme Court is Asked to Review Patent Eligibility Standards for Software

William Atkins, head of Pillsbury’s intellectual property litigation team, argued that the Supreme Court may be more inclined to take the CLS Bank case, another contentious decision by the Federal Circuit, over the WildTangent case since the en banc CLS Bank ruling “really revealed how fractured the court is.”

He noted that either case gives the justices a chance to address “the great philosophical debate over where to draw the line between protecting an idea and preventing others from using basic thoughts and procedures.”

Atkins commented that although the inconclusive CLS Bank ruling was “a travesty,” the Supreme Court has an opportunity to set clear standards for software patents because it is not bound by Federal Circuit precedent. “The Supreme Court doesn't have its hands tied as much as the Federal Circuit, so they have broader latitude about what they can say.”