WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - A U.S. patent appeals court ruled on Thursday that business
methods, such as Amazon.com Inc's one-click to buy goods on the
Internet, cannot be patented.
The case was closely watched by software makers, Internet companies, investment houses and other businesses.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the patent
application in question -- a method for reducing the risk of sudden
changes in energy costs -- was not a machine and did not result in a
transformation, both standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court for
patentability.
Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw had challenged the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office's rejection of their request to patent their method
for managing energy price risks.
"The decision of the board is affirmed," the court said.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Andre Grenon)
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