United States Court of Appeals – Bilski: Patentierungsausschluß eines Geschäftsverfahrens

United States Court of Appeals, Entsch. v. 30. Oktober 2008, 2007-1130 – Bilski

Ein Verfahren zum Risiko-Hedging im Rohstoffhandel ist von der Patentierung ausgeschlossen.

„At present, however, and certainly for the present case, we see no need for such a departure and reaffirm that the machine-or-transformation test, properly applied, is the governing test for determining patent eligibility of a process under § 101.„

„To be sure, a process tied to a particular machine, or transforming or reducing a particular article into a different state or thing, will generally produce a „concrete“ and „tangible“ result as those terms were used in our prior decisions. But while looking for „a useful, concrete and tangible result“ may in many instances provide useful indications of whether a claim is drawn to a fundamental principle or a practical application of such a principle, that inquiry is insufficient to determine whether a claim is patent-eligible under § 101. And it was certainly never intended to supplant the Supreme Court’s test. Therefore, we also conclude that the „useful, concrete and tangible result“ inquiry is inadequate and reaffirm that the machine-or-transformation test outlined by the Supreme Court is the proper test to apply.“