The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), a key panel within the Patent Office, has tightened the rules for American software patents. The recently-released decision builds on last year's landmark ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of In Re Bilski. In that case, the Federal Circuit focused on business method patents and had left key questions about the patentability of software-related inventions unanswered.
The new ruling will give thousands of American patent examiners guidance about how to apply the holdings of Bilski in software patent cases.
Narrowing the scope
The BPAI has first crack at reviewing the work of individual patent examiners and its decisions are subject to review by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The new BPAI decision was actually released in August, but the panel only recently declared it 'precedential.' This relatively rare step means that the nation's patent examiners are required to take it into consideration as they work through the backlog of pending software-related patent applications.
However, the decision may have a short shelf life: the Supreme Court is due to weigh in on Bilski in the Spring. If the Supreme Court overrules key provisions of the Federal Circuit's Bilski ruling, the BPAI will need to go back to the drawing board once again.
