DRAFT BILL IN CONGRESS COULD COMPLETELY TRANSFORM PATENTABILITY OF INVENTIONS

A group of lawmakers released a draft bill to reform our patent law regarding subject matter eligibility.  On May 22, 2019, the draft bill was released, and can be seen here.

The transformational aspect of the bill is that it would prohibit the use of “judicially created exceptions” in determining patent eligibility.  The bill would also reject the consideration of other sections of the Patent Act when determining §101 eligibility.  In lay terms, if this act is enacted, expect a much lower patent eligibility standard and increased patenting of software and business method inventions.  Whether this bill can be enacted is to be determined!