The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) of 2024: From Oz to Earth

by Dennis Crouch

As its name suggests, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) is designed to substantially overturn the Supreme Court's decisions in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International, 573 U.S. 208 (2014). Together those cases created a firestorm of invalid patents and challenges for the patent office and patent holders alike.  The bipartisan proposal was introduced in the Senate (Coons/Tillis) earlier this term and most recently introduced to the US House of Representatives (Kiley/Peters).   Although Alice and Mayo doctrine created substantial confusion, much of that confusion has now died down in the past decade.* The bigger issue is that it is substantially harder to obtain patents and easier to invalidate issued patents -- particularly in cases where the invention lies in software or diagnostic methods.  This post examines the proposed PERA and its potential impact -- along with providing a bit of data.

* Although the extreme confusion is gone, there is still plenty to go around.  A case in point is the Federal Circuit's September 3, 2024 decision in BBiTV v. Amazon. In that case, the court showed its linguistic flexibility in distinguishing the claimed user interface (deemed ineligible) from those in Core Wireless and Data Engine (deemed eligible).


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Chien and Wu: Decoding Patentable Subject Matter

Professor Colleen Chien and Jiun Ying Wu are working their way through an analysis of millions of USPTO office actions.  In this Patently-O L.J. essay, the pair reports on how the PTO is examining applications for patentable subject matter.  The article documents "a spike in 101 rejections among select medical diagnostics and software/business method applications following the Alice and Mayo decisions."  Although rejections rose within certain art units, the pair found little impact elsewhere.

Colleen Chien and Jiun-Ying Wu, Decoding Patentable Subject Matter, 2018 PatentlyO Patent Law Journal 1.

Prior Patently-O Patent L.J. Articles:


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Federal Circuit: Bingo Gaming Software Improperly Encompasses the “Basic Tools of Scientific and Technological Work”

by Dennis Crouch

Planet Bingo v. VKGS (Fed. Cir. 2014)

In a non-precedential decision earlier this week, the Federal Circuit found Planet Bingo's patents invalid as lacking eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101.  The court's opinion self-identifies as a "straightforward application of the Supreme Court’s recent holding in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International."

The patent claims a computerized method for managing a game of Bingo - yes, the multi-billion dollar industry of Bingo. The basic idea of the invention is that some folks want to play 'their numbers' each week.  The computerized system lets individuals pre-select their numbers and also helps the Bingo-hall to track sales, verify winners, and avoid tampering.  VKGS and Planet Bingo compete in the marketplace for bingo equipment.


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“Intent Engine” Claims Fail 101 for Lack of Technological Inventive Concept

by Dennis Crouch

USC IP P’ship, L.P. v. Meta Platforms (Facebook), 22-1397 (Fed. Cir. August 30, 2023)

In a non-precedential opinion authored by Judge Pauline Newman, the Federal Circuit has affirmed USC IP Partnership's asserted patent claims are all invalid.  Back in 2020, USC IP sued Facebook for infringing its U.S. Patent No. 8,645,300.  The arguably pro-patentee Judge Alan Albright served as the district court judge.  Like Judge Newman, he had also found the claims invalid as unduly directed to an abstract idea. USC IP P’ship, L.P. v. Facebook, Inc., 576 F. Supp. 3d 446 (W.D. Tex. 2021) (granting summary judgment of ineligibility).


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