ITC Amenable to Early Section 101 Challenges, ITC Blog
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Over the past two months, administrative law judges have found asserted claims invalid under Section 101 in three separate investigations. Each of these decisions came relatively early in the case, with one issuing pursuant to the Commission’s 100-Day Pilot Program.
Section 101
Section 101 of the Patent Act provides that “[W]hoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.” See 35 U.S.C. § 101. The Supreme Court’s decision in Alice Corp. Pry. Ltd. v.CLS Bank Intern., 134 S.Ct. 2347 (2014) finding a method performed on a generic computer abstract and not patent eligible, set off a wave of successful Section 101 patent subject matter challenges in district courts. The Federal Circuit has set some bounds on these challenges in cases such as Enfish, DDR Holdings, and Bascom, but, largely, methods performed on generic computer components are susceptible to invalidation.
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