WASHINGTON(Reuters) – A U.S. patent appeals court ruled on Thursday that businessmethods, such as Amazon.com Inc’s one-click to buy goods on theInternet, 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 patentapplication in question — a method for reducing the risk of suddenchanges in energy costs — was not a machine and did not result in atransformation, both standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court forpatentability.
Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw had challenged the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office’s rejection of their request to patent their methodfor 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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