[Ip-health] Thursday, Sept 10: KEI brownbag on Scope of Patentable Subject Matter, Bilski ruling

[Malini Aisola]

KEI is hosting a brownbag lunch to discuss the scope of patentable
subject matter in reference to the Supreme Court's forthcoming decision
on Bilski's appeal.

When: Thursday, September 10, 2009Time: 12:00-2:00pm

Location:
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
1621 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009
Tel +1 202 332 2670

The meeting will include presentations by:
Brian Kahin, CCIA
John R. Thomas, Georgetown University Law Center
Dan Ravicher, Public Patent Foundation and Cardozo Law School

Background:
Many concerns have been raised in the past 15 years about the radical
expansion of patentable subject matter to include all forms of software,
human activities (business methods), and diagnostic information. This
expansion took place with virtually no public input. As one treatise
puts it:

        [B]road notions of patent eligibility appear to be in the best
        interest of the patent bar, the PTO, and the Federal Circuit
        [CAFC]. Workloads increase and regulatory authority expands when
        new industries become subject to the appropriations authorized
        by the patent law. Noticeably absent from the private,
        administrative and judicial structure is a high regard for the
        public interest. [1]

As a result, virtually all human activity became subject to patenting,
including established civil liberties. As Professor Thomas, Georgetown
Law, has written, =E2=80=9Cthe patent law allows private actors to impose m=
ore
significant restraints on speech than has ever been possible through
copyright.=E2=80=9D A wide of variety of tax avoidance strategies have been
patented, despite the opposition of the accounting profession. Patents
disadvantage open source software and threaten the development of and
use of open standards. Health care faces patents linking symptoms and
conditions with treatments.

Last year, the Federal Circuit cut back on the scope of patentable
subject in In re Bilski, by limiting process patents to either physical
transformations or use tied to particular machine. However, the Supreme
Court recently agreed to hear Bilski=E2=80=99s appeal and will soon issue i=
ts
first decision on the scope of patentable subject matter in 28 years. 44
amicus briefs were filed in the first round; final amicus filings are
due October 2.

This is the first time since 1981 that the Supreme Court will address
the limits of patentable subject matter. This meeting will provide
background, a survey of the response filings and an opportunity for
discussion.

[1] Roger E. Schechter and John R. Thomas, Intellectual Property, West
Hornbook Series, 2003, p. 314.

Bring your lunch! We'll provide coffee and soft drinks.

RSVP: Malini Aisola:  malini.aisola@keionline.org



--
Malini Aisola
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington DC 20009
malini.aisola@keionline.org|Tel: +1.202.332.2670|Fax: +1.202.332.2673