"We are now a decade past the Supreme Court's eligibility revolution in Alice and Mayo. Legislative efforts have coalesced around the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2025 (PERA), while USPTO Director John Squires has simultaneously launched a campaign of administrative reinterpretation to restore what he calls "expansive eligibility." The Federal Circuit, once reluctant to embrace the new eligibility approach, now serves as the principal stabilizing force and is the principle backstop to Patent Office experimentation."
"I wanted to follow up to discuss written submissions by two leading commentators: USPTO Director John Squires , and Stanford Law Professor Mark Lemley. Squires written statement calls for restoration of "expansive eligibility." In addition to the potential for legislation, Squires also highlights his ongoing administrative reinterpretation of eligibility doctrine and suggests doctrinal correction by the courts to correct what he sees as a misinterpretation of Alice/ Mayo."
A decade after Alice and Mayo, legislative momentum centers on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2025 (PERA) while the USPTO director pursues administrative reinterpretation to expand eligibility. The director advocates doctrinal correction by courts to undo perceived misinterpretations of Alice/Mayo and emphasizes administrative and legislative paths. A leading academic commentator counters that current judicial doctrine functions properly and that the USPTO often fails to follow existing law, citing problematic denials of inter partes review petitions under the AIA. The Federal Circuit now acts as a stabilizing, corrective force and a backstop to Patent Office experimentation. The director recounts developing expedited patents after 9/11.
Read at Patently-O
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]