The Supreme Court on Thursday declared that a patent related to a centuries old financial concept was invalid as an abstract idea, even though the concept was implemented through a computer.
The court's unanimous ruling serves to narrow the type of "inventions" that can be eligible for patents, and amounts to a victory for the technology industry and other companies that have long claimed about software related patents.
The case itself involved a patent for escrow services held by Alice Corp, a shell company regarded by many as a "patent troll." The patent's validity was challenged by CLS Bank, which runs a currency transaction network, and which argued that Alice's patent simply described a settlement mechanism that banks have used for centuries.
"We conclude that the method claims, which merely require generic computer implementation, fail to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention," wrote Justice Clarence Thomas.
Thomas also cautioned against allowing patents that relied on "the draftman's art" to turn abstract notion into monopolies on ideas.
The ruling comes at a time when the Supreme Court has issued a recent series of other 9-0 rulings that have highlighted problems with the U.S. patent system, including a flood of low quality patents that are often abused by so-called troll.
A marked up copy of the ruling is below. More soon.
Alice SCOTUS Decision
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