Where Do We Go From Here on Patent Eligibility After American Axle?

Where Do We Go From Here on Patent Eligibility After American Axle?

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The U.S. Supreme Court has now denied certiorari in American Axle v. Neapco Holdings, Inc., leaving it up to Congress and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to restore any semblance of clarity on U.S. patent eligibility law for now.

Many expected that the Court would grant the petition after the U.S. Solicitor General in May recommended granting review. The SG’s brief said that inventions like the one at issue in American Axle have “[h]istorically…long been viewed as paradigmatic examples of the ‘arts’ or ‘processes’ that may receive patent protection if other statutory criteria are satisfied” and that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit “erred in reading this Court’s precedents to dictate a contrary conclusion.” It also explained in no uncertain terms that claim 22 of the patent at issue in the case does not “simply describe or recite” a natural law and ultimately should have been held patent eligible.

But without comment, the Supreme Court justices denied cert. in their last Orders List of the term. More recently, Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) has drafted legislation that would provide a statutory fix to 35 U.S.C. 101, at least for biopharma.

This panel will explore where we go from here.

Materials*

Tillis’ Promised Patent Eligibility Bill Would Overrule Myriad, Mayo

It’s Time to Give Up on the Charade of U.S. Patent Protection: Most Patents are Now Officially Invalid under American Axle

Solicitor General Tells SCOTUS CAFC Got it Wrong in American Axle, Recommends Granting

* A Note on Materials: We apply for MCLE, which requires substantive writing on the topic covered. The materials provided below, often published by IPWatchdog.com authors and contributors, relate to the topic but are not intended to pigeon-hole guest speakers in any way. They are hopefully informative, and the articles we select have to date always been sufficient to satisfy MCLE authorities.