SCOTUS Finds Software Based On Abstract Idea Not Patentable

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today, in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International, that software based on an abstract idea is not patentable. The Supreme Court agreed to take up the case after a 10-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit could not agree on a test to determine whether a software patent is an abstract idea, which is not patentable, or a “business method,” which is patentable. “Merely requiring generic computer implementation fails to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention,” Justice Clarence Thomas said, reading from the opinion.