On the recordMarch 8, 2011
I want to take the opportunity to explain further a few elements of the Schumer-Kyl provision in the patent bill. The Transitional Program for business method patents addresses a critical problem in the patent world, and it is crucial that it be administered and implemented appropriately by both the Patent and Trademark Office and the courts. Business method patents are the bane of the patent world. The business method problem began in 1998 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. State Street created a sea-change in the patentability of business-methods, holding that any invention can be patented so long as it produces a ``useful, concrete, and tangible result'' and meets other requirements of the patent laws. State Street launched an avalanche of patent applications seeking protection for common business practices. The quality of these business method patents has been much lower than that of other patents, as Justice Kennedy noted in his concurring opinion in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange.
