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Stanford Law Review: Volume 63, Issue 6 - June 2011: Symposium - the Future of Patents
Stanford Law Review: Volume 63, Issue 6 - June 2011: Symposium - the Future of Patents
Stanford Law Review: Volume 63, Issue 6 - June 2011: Symposium - the Future of Patents
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Stanford Law Review: Volume 63, Issue 6 - June 2011: Symposium - the Future of Patents

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This volume, in effect a book on patent law, is the special June 2011 Symposium, featuring cutting-edge articles on patent law and other IP issues related to genetic and biotech innovation and "business methods" — after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bilski v. Kappos, and beyond.

Issues of the Stanford Law Review generally contain material written by student members of the Law Review, other Stanford law students, and outside contributors, such as law professors, judges, and practicing lawyers; this Symposium issue features articles by leading scholars in the field of intellectual property law. Its contributors include such internationally recognized IP scholars as John Duffy, Peter Menell, Mark Lemley, Michael Risch, Polk Wagner, Ted Sichelman, Rochelle Dreyfuss, and Robin Feldman.

The collection is accessible and useful not only to those who research and practice in IP law, but also to nonlawyers involved in technology, engineering, and business-method research who are interested in the complex state of the law dealing with property rights in such science and innovation, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's new textual approach to deciding what may and may not be patentable.

Quality ebook formatting includes complete and linked Tables of Contents for the issue and for each contribution; linked footnotes and URLs; linked cross-references throughout text and notes; and legible tables and graphs.

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PublisherQuid Pro, LLC
Release dateDec 21, 2013
ISBN9781610279765
Stanford Law Review: Volume 63, Issue 6 - June 2011: Symposium - the Future of Patents
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Stanford Law Review

An acclaimed student-edited legal journal of Stanford Law School, publishing six issues each year of articles by outstanding scholars in law and related disciplines.

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    Stanford Law Review - Stanford Law Review

    Stanford

    Law Review

    Symposium Issue

    June 2011

    The Future of Patents: Bilski and Beyond

    Stanford Law Review

    Volume 63, Issue 6

    June 2011

    Smashwords edition: Published in the 2011 digital edition by Quid Pro Books, at Smashwords.

    Copyright © 2011 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved. This work or parts of it may not be reproduced, copied, or transmitted (except as permitted by sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), by any means including voice recordings and the copying of its digital form, without the written permission of the print publisher.

    The publisher of various editions and formats is the Stanford Law Review, who authorized Quid Pro Books exclusively to reproduce it in this ebook format: digitally published in such editions, for the Stanford Law Review, by Quid Pro Books. Available in multiple digital formats and at leading ebook retailers and booksellers.

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    Cataloging for Volume 63, Issue 6:

    ISBN: 161027976X (ePub)

    ISBN-13: 9781610279765 (ePub)

    CONTENTS

    June 2011

    SYMPOSIUM

    Introduction [63 STAN. L. REV. 1245]

    by Dmitry Karshtedt

    Why Business Method Patents? [63 STAN. L. REV. 1247]

    by John F. Duffy

    "Forty Years of Wondering in the Wilderness and No Closer to the Promised Land: Bilski’s Superficial Textualism and the Missed Opportunity to Return Patent Law to Its Technology Mooring" [63 STAN. L. REV. 1289]

    by Peter S. Menell

    "Life After Bilski" [63 STAN. L. REV. 1315]

    by Mark A. Lemley, Michael Risch, Ted Sichelman & R. Polk Wagner

    "From Bilski Back to Benson: Preemption, Inventing Around, and the Case of Genetic Diagnostics" [63 STAN. L. REV. 1349]

    by Rochelle C. Dreyfuss & James P. Evans

    Whose Body Is It Anyway? Human Cells and the Strange Effects of Property and Intellectual Property Law [63 STAN. L. REV. 1377]

    by Robin Feldman

    Information About the Stanford Law Review

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    EDITORIAL BOARD

    VOLUME 63

    MASHA GODINA HANSFORD

    President

    SHELTON L. ABRAMSON

    JANINE ANN WETZEL

    Executive Editors

    LAURA E. CONNIFF

    ERIC HANSFORD

    Managing Editors

    DMITRY KARSHTEDT

    Senior Symposium Editor

    JENNIFER CLARK

    Senior Development Editor

    JENNIFER A.L. SHELDON-SHERMAN

    Senior Notes Editor

    ZAC ALEXANDER COX

    Senior Production Editor

    JOSH PATASHNIK

    Senior Articles Editor

    JONATHAN JAMES GOODWIN

    Senior Finance Editor

    Projects Editor

    ALEX REESE

    Technical Managing Editor

    COLLIN P. WEDEL

    Symposium Editors

    ZACHARY ORLO JONES CARPENTER

    ANYU FANG

    JUSTIN T. GOODWIN

    MATT KELLOGG

    ALLISON M.E. PEDRAZZI

    ELIZABETH LAUREN VAN PELT

    Development Editors

    ELISSA LINDEN GYSI

    HAYLEY HUNT HEDGES

    BENJAMIN T. JACKSON

    KEVIN C. LO

    PRIYA NAIK

    NORMAN ANDREW SFEIR

    JOHN CARDENAS WILLIAMS

    Notes Editors

    KATHERINE BEARMAN

    MICHAEL CAESAR

    LOREN A. CRARY

    WILL EDELMAN

    MATTHEW XAVIER ETCHEMENDY

    MORGAN A. GALLAND

    SOPHIA LIN LAKIN

    MICHAEL MILLER

    ERIN MOHAN

    JESSICA I. ROTHSCHILD

    THOMAS M. SPAHN

    Articles Editors

    DANIEL WILLIAM BELL

    ELIZABETH BOGGS

    GAYLE JENNIFER DENMAN

    ALEXANDRA L. LAMPERT

    KYLE W. MAURER

    ESTEBAN MORIN

    GOVIND C. PERSAD

    EMILY O’BRIEN ROBERTS

    ANDREW PAUL SCHUPANITZ

    TIMOTHY H. SHAPIRO

    YANBAI ANDREA WANG

    Members

    JONATHAN ABEL

    JULIA ALLEN

    ALEXANDER B.M. ARONSON

    AMY KNIGHT BURNS

    CHRISTOPHER BROOKS COLE

    EMILY C. CURRAN-HUBERTY

    ROSE LEDA EHLER

    LILLY FANG

    JANE E. FARRINGTON

    MAGGIE ELLEN FILLER

    ERIC S. FLEEKOP

    JAMES FREEDMAN

    J. ROBERT GARCIA

    JENNIFER M. GIBSON

    JUSTIN MICHAEL GONZALES

    JENNIFER M. HALBLEIB

    JENNIFER A. HOLMES

    KATHERINE C. HUDSON

    WILLIAM JACOBSON

    CORINNE F. JOHNSON

    CHERYL JOSEPH

    ADAM KOOL

    EMILY KORINEK

    MELINDA LEE KOSTER

    STEPHANIE LINDSAY LAKE

    JONATHAN LELAND

    STEWART P. LYNN

    CLINTON J. MARTIN

    BLAKE MASTERS

    BRIGGS MATHESON

    JONATHAN R. MAYER

    COLIN MCDONELL

    AMY R. MOTOMURA

    BETH NEITZEL

    JACQUES MICHEL NTONME

    LARA PALANJIAN

    ANDREW G. PROUT

    HOLLY RAGAN

    C. HARKER RHODES IV

    PETER J. RICHMOND

    NOAH SMITH-DRELICH

    PETER SQUERI

    MICHAEL TAMKIN

    KATHERINE TRAVERSO

    Business Manager

    JULIE YEE

    The Stanford University School of Law

    OFFICERS OF ADMINISTRATION

    John Hennessy, B.E., M.S., Ph.D., President of the University

    John Etchemendy, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Provost of the University

    Larry D. Kramer, A.B., J.D., Dean and Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Professor (by courtesy) of History

    Mark G. Kelman, A.B., J.D., James C. Gaither Professor of Law and Vice Dean

    Deborah R. Hensler, A.B., Ph.D., Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies

    Lawrence C. Marshall, B.A., J.D., Professor of Law, David and Stephanie Mills Director of Clinical Education, and Associate Dean for Public Interest and Clinical Education

    Jane Schacter, A.B., J.D., William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Curriculum

    F. Daniel Siciliano, B.A., J.D., Senior Lecturer in Law and Associate Dean for Executive Education and Special Programs

    Frank F. Brucato, B.A., Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Chief Financial Officer

    Diane T. Chin, B.A., J.D., Lecturer in Law and Associate Dean for Public Service and Public Interest Law

    Faye Deal, A.B., Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid

    Catherine Glaze, A.B., J.D., Associate Dean for Student Affairs

    Sabrina Johnson, B.A., Associate Dean for Communications and Public Relations

    Susan C. Robinson, B.A., J.D., Associate Dean for Career Services

    Scott Showalter, B.A., Associate Dean for External Relations

    FACULTY EMERITI

    Barbara Allen Babcock, A.B., LL.B., LL.D. (hon.), Judge John Crown Professor of Law, Emerita

    Paul Brest, A.B., LL.B., LL.D. (hon.), Professor of Law, Emeritus, and former Dean

    William Cohen, B.A., LL.B., C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law, Emeritus

    Lance E. Dickson, B.A., LL.B., B.Com., M.L.S., Professor of Law, Emeritus, and former Director of Robert Crown Law Library

    Marc A. Franklin, A.B., LL.B., Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law, Emeritus

    William B. Gould IV, A.B., LL.B., LL.D. (hon.), Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law, Emeritus

    Thomas C. Grey, B.A., B.A., LL.B., LL.D. (hon.), Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor of Law, Emeritus

    Thomas C. Heller, A.B., LL.B., Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies, Emeritus

    Miguel A. Méndez, A.A., B.A., J.D., Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law, Emeritus

    John Henry Merryman, B.S., M.S., J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., Dr. h.c., Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor of Law, Emeritus, and Affiliated Professor of Art, Emeritus

    David Rosenhan, A.B., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Law and Psychology, Emeritus

    Kenneth E. Scott, A.B., M.A., LL.B., Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Law and Business, Emeritus

    Michael S. Wald, A.B., M.A., LL.B., Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law, Emeritus

    Howard R. Williams, A.B., LL.B., Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Emeritus

    PROFESSORS

    Janet Cooper Alexander, B.A., M.A., J.D., Frederick I. Richman Professor of Law

    Joseph M. Bankman, A.B., J.D., Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Law and Business

    R. Richard Banks, B.A., M.A., J.D., Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law

    Juliet M. Brodie, A.B., J.D., Professor of Law

    Joshua Cohen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Philosophy, and Law

    G. Marcus Cole, B.S., J.D., Wm. Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law

    Richard Craswell, B.A., J.D., William F. Baxter-Visa International Professor of Law

    Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, A.B., A.M., J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar

    Robert M. Daines, B.S., B.A., J.D., Pritzker Professor of Law and Business and Professor (by courtesy) of Finance

    Michele Landis Dauber, B.S.W., J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law, Bernard D. Bergreen Faculty Scholar, and Professor (by courtesy) of Sociology

    John J. Donohue III, B.A., J.D., Ph.D., C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law

    David Freeman Engstrom, A.B., M.Sc., J.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Law

    Nora Freeman Engstrom, B.A., J.D., Assistant Professor of Law

    George Fisher, A.B., J.D., Judge John Crown Professor of Law

    Jeffrey L. Fisher, A.B., J.D., Associate Professor of Law

    Richard Thompson Ford, A.B., J.D., George E. Osborne Professor of Law

    Barbara H. Fried, B.A., M.A., J.D., William W. and Gertrude H. Saunders Professor of Law

    Lawrence M. Friedman, A.B., J.D., LL.M., LL.D. (hon.), Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law, Professor (by courtesy) of History, and Professor (by courtesy) of Political Science

    Ronald J. Gilson, A.B., J.D., Charles J. Meyers Professor of Law and Business

    Paul Goldstein, A.B., LL.B., Stella W. and Ira S. Lillick Professor of Law

    Henry T. Greely, A.B., J.D., Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor (by courtesy) of Genetics

    Joseph A. Grundfest, B.A., M.Sc., J.D., W.A. Franke Professor of Law and Business

    Deborah R. Hensler, A.B., Ph.D., Judge John W. Ford Professor of Dispute Resolution and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies

    Daniel E. Ho, B.A., A.M., Ph.D., J.D., Professor of Law and Robert E. Paradise Faculty Fellow for Excellence in Teaching and Research

    Pamela S. Karlan, B.A., M.A., J.D., Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law

    Mark G. Kelman, A.B., J.D., James C. Gaither Professor of Law and Vice Dean

    Amalia D. Kessler, A.B., M.A., J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law, Helen L. Crocker Faculty Scholar, and Professor (by courtesy) of History

    Daniel P. Kessler, B.A., J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, and Professor of Health Research and Policy (by courtesy) of School of Medicine

    Michael Klausner, B.A., M.A., J.D., Nancy and Charles Munger Professor of Business and Professor of Law

    William S. Koski, B.B.A., J.D., Ph.D., Eric and Nancy Wright Professor of Clinical Education and Professor (by courtesy) of Education

    Larry D. Kramer, A.B., J.D., Dean and Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Professor (by courtesy) of History

    Mark A. Lemley, B.A, J.D., William H. Neukom Professor of Law

    Lawrence C. Marshall, B.A., J.D., Professor of Law, David and Stephanie Mills Director of Clinical Education, and Associate Dean for Public Interest and Clinical Education

    Jenny S. Martinez, B.A., J.D., Professor of Law and Justin M. Roach, Jr. Faculty Scholar

    Michael W. McConnell, B.A., J.D., Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law, Director, Stanford Constitutional Law Center, and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

    Jay Mitchell, B.A., J.D., Associate Professor of Law and Director, Organizations and Transactions Clinic

    Alison D. Morantz, A.B., M.Sc., J.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Law and John A. Wilson Distinguished Faculty Scholar

    Joan Petersilia, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Adelbert H. Sweet Professor of Law

    A. Mitchell Polinsky, A.B., Ph.D., M.S.L., Josephine Scott Crocker Professor of Law and Economics and Professor (by courtesy) of Economics

    Robert L. Rabin, B.S., J.D., Ph.D., A. Calder Mackay Professor of Law

    Deborah L. Rhode, B.A., J.D., Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law

    Jane Schacter, A.B., J.D., William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Curriculum

    Deborah A. Sivas, A.B., M.S., J.D., Luke W. Cole Professor of Environmental Law

    Norman W. Spaulding, B.A., J.D., Nelson Bowman Sweitzer and Marie B. Sweitzer Professor of Law

    Jayashri Srikantiah, B.S., J.D., Associate Professor of Law

    James Frank Strnad II, A.B., J.D., Ph.D., Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law

    Kathleen M. Sullivan, B.A., B.A., J.D., Stanley Morrison Professor of Law and former Dean

    Alan O. Sykes, B.A., J.D., Ph.D., James and Patricia Kowal Professor of Law

    Barton H. Thompson, Jr., A.B., J.D., M.B.A., Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, and Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

    Barbara van Schewick, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Law

    Michael Wara, B.A., Ph.D., J.D., Assistant Professor of Law and Research Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

    Robert Weisberg, A.B., A.M., Ph.D., J.D., Edwin E. Huddleson, Jr. Professor of Law

    SENIOR LECTURERS

    Margaret R. Caldwell, B.S., J.D., Senior Lecturer in Law and Executive Director, Center for Oceans Solutions, Woods Institute for the Environment

    Janet Martinez, B.S., J.D., M.P.A., Senior Lecturer in Law

    David W. Mills, B.A., J.D., Senior Lecturer in Law

    F. Daniel Siciliano, B.A., J.D., Senior Lecturer in Law and Associate Dean for Executive Education and Special Programs

    Allen S. Weiner, A.B., J.D., Senior Lecturer in Law

    VISITING PROFESSORS & AFFILIATED FACULTY

    Michael Asimow, B.S., J.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    Kyle Bagwell, B.S., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Alexandria Boehm, M.S., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Jared R. Curhan, A.B., A.M., Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Nita Farahany, M.A., J.D., Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Siegfried Fina, J.D., J.S.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Pratheepan Gulasekaram, J.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of Law

    Tamar Herzog, Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    David Holloway, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Daniel Hulsebosch, J.D., Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    Ron Kasznik, M.S., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Chimene Keitner, M.P., D.P., J.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Brian Lowery, B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Mark McKenna, J.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Bernadette Meyler, J.D., Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    David Patton, J.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of Law

    Rogelio Perez-Perdomo, Ph.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    Paul C. Pfleiderer, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Professor (by courtesy) of Law

    Madhav Rajan, B.A., M.S., M.B.A., Ph.D., Professor (by courtesy) of Law

    Jack Rakove, A.B., Ph.D., Professor (by courtesy) of Law

    Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, B.A., J.D., Visiting Associate Professor of Law

    Lee D. Ross, B.A., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Rebecca Sandefur, B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Assistant Professor (by courtesy) of Law

    William Simon, A.B., J.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    Helen Stacy, LL.B., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Frank A. Wolak, B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty

    Jonathan Zittrain, B.S., M.P.A., J.D., Visiting Professor of Law

    LECTURERS AND TEACHING FELLOWS

    Alvin Attles, J.D.

    Dmitry Barn, J.D.

    Daniel Barton, J.D.

    Marilyn M. Bautista, J.D.

    Jeanine Becker, J.D.

    Samuel Bray, J.D.

    Viola Canales, J.D.

    Diane T. Chin, J.D.

    Daniel Cooperman, J.D., M.B.A.

    John Crawford, M.A., J.D.

    Elizabeth de la Vega, J.D.

    Lothar Determann, J.D.

    Michael Dickstein, J.D.

    Bonnie Eskenazi, J.D.

    Anthony Falzone, J.D.

    Randee G. Fenner, J.D.

    Bertram Fields, LL.B.

    Jeremy Fogel, J.D.

    David Forst, J.D.

    Laurence Franklin, J.D., M.B.A., C.P.A.

    Michelle Galloway, J.D.

    Mei Gechlik, LL.B., LL.M., J.S.D., J.S.M., M.B.A.

    Thomas C. Goldstein, J.D.

    Richard Goldstone, LL.B.

    Jonathan D. Greenberg, J.D.

    Timothy H. Hallahan, J.D.

    Brad Handler, J.D.

    Keith Hennessey, M.P.P.

    Brooke Heymach, J.D.

    Amy Howe, M.A., J.D.

    John Huhs, J.D., M.B.A.

    Ivan Humphreys, J.D.

    Erik Jensen, J.D.

    David Johnson, J.D., J.S.M.

    Danielle Jones, J.D.

    Stephen Juelsgaard, D.V.M., J.D.

    Kathleen Kelly, J.D.

    Julie Matlof Kennedy, J.D.

    Jason Kipnis, J.D.

    Suzanne McKechnie Klahr, J.D.

    Jeffrey W. Kobrick, J.D.

    Charles Koob, J.D.

    Phillip Levine, J.D.

    Donald Lewis, J.D., LL.M.

    Galit Lipa, J.D., LL.M.

    J. Paul Lomio, J.D., LL.M., M.L.I.S.

    Brian Love, J.D.

    Steven Lucas, J.D.

    Beth McLellan, J.D.

    Jeanne Merino, J.D.

    Roberta Morris, J.D., Ph.D.

    Linda Netsch, J.D.

    Thomas J. Nolan, J.D.

    Jessica Notini, J.D.

    Ralph Pais, J.D.

    Moria Paz, J.S.D., LL.M.

    B. Howard Pearson, J.D.

    Lisa M. Pearson, J.D., J.S.M.

    Pamela Phan, J.D.

    Joe Pitts III, J.D.

    Duane Quaini, J.D.

    Stephan Ray, J.D.

    Claudio Rechden, LL.B., LL.M.

    Michael Romano, J.D.

    Andrew Roper, M.A., Ph.D.

    Stephen Rosenbaum, J.D.

    Matthew Rossiter, J.D.

    Thomas Rubin, J.D.

    Kevin Russell, J.D.

    Richard Salgado, J.D.

    Ticien Sassoubre, Ph.D.

    Rachelle Silverberg, J.D.

    Smita Singh, Ph.D.

    Stephanie E. Smith, J.D.

    Steven Smith, M.P., LL.B., J.D.

    Dee Smythe, LL.B., J.S.D., J.S.M

    Sergio Stone, J.D., M.L.I.S.

    Kimberly Summe, M.S., M.A., LL.B., J.D.

    Stuart Taylor Jr., J.D.

    Peter Thiel, J.D.

    Jean Thomas, M.A., J.D., LL.M., J.S.D.

    Dan Torres, J.D.

    Erika V. Wayne, J.D., M.S.

    Dana Weintraub, M.D.

    Robert Wexler, J.D.

    Katherine Wright, J.D.

    PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY STAFF

    Annie Chen, B.A., M.L.S.

    Alba Holgado, B.A.

    J. Paul Lomio, B.A., J.D., LL.M., M.L.I.S.

    Rachael Samberg, J.D.

    Sergio Stone, J.D., M.L.I.S.

    Erika V. Wayne, A.B., J.D., M.S.

    George D. Wilson, B.A., J.D., M.L.I.S.

    Sarah Wilson, B.A., M.L.I.S.

    Kathleen M. Winzer, B.A., M.L.S.

    Naheed Zaheer, B.S., M.S., M.L.I.S.

    SYMPOSIUM

    THE FUTURE OF PATENTS: BILSKI AND BEYOND

    [cite Introduction as 63 STAN. L. REV. 1245]

    INTRODUCTION

    Dmitry Karshtedt*

    The 2011 Stanford Law Review Symposium, "The Future of Patents: Bilski and Beyond," explores the impact of the recent Supreme Court case Bilski v. Kappos¹ on technological innovation and the patent system. The articles presented in this Issue address the growth of engineering approaches to business and finance and concomitant patenting of inventions in those areas,² the historical and technological underpinnings of the patentable subject matter requirement,³ the relationship between patent eligibility and the scope of the claims to which the patentee is entitled,⁴ the effect of patents on follow-on research in the field of genetic diagnostics,⁵ and the patentability of materials that come from human sources.⁶

    The live Symposium at Stanford Law School on January 28-29, 2011, co-sponsored by the Stanford Center for Law, Science, and Technology, further developed these themes. The event brought together the authors published in this Issue as well as Morgan Chu of Irell & Manella, David Jones of Microsoft, Gary Loeb of Genentech, Vern Norviel of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Marc Pernick of Morrison & Foerster, Jason Schultz of the University of California, Berkeley, and Steven Weiner of SRI International.

    Dr. Roberta Morris of Stanford Law School, Professor Michael Risch of Villanova University School of Law, and Dr. Stefania Fusco of Santa Clara Law School moderated the Symposium panels. The mix of academic and practitioner perspectives provided for exciting, wide-ranging debates. The event culminated with a Keynote Address given by the Honorable James Ware, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

    The Symposium’s success would not have been possible without the work of many Stanford Law Review members, particularly the members of the Symposium Committee: Jon Abel, Zack Carpenter, Anyu Fang, Jen Gibson, Justin Goodwin, Cheryl Joseph, Matt Kellogg, Allie Pedrazzi, and Libbey Van Pelt. I would like also to thank Jillian Del Pozo, Jason Estacio, Joe Neto, Roger Williams, and the Stanford Law School Program Group—Jodie Carian, Jackie Del Barrio, Trish Gertridge, and Erin Lee—for their invaluable support.

    * Senior Symposium Editor, Volume 63, Stanford Law Review; J.D. Candidate, Stanford Law School, 2011.

    1. 130 S. Ct. 3218 (2010).

    2. John F. Duffy, Why Business Method Patents?, 63 STAN. L. REV. 1247 (2011).

    3. Peter S. Menell, Forty Years of Wondering in the Wilderness and No Closer to the Promised Land: Bilski’s Superficial Textualism and the Missed Opportunity to Return Patent Law to Its Technology Mooring, 63 STAN. L. REV. 1289 (2011).

    4. Mark A. Lemley, Michael Risch, Ted Sichelman & R. Polk Wagner, Life After Bilski, 63 STAN. L. REV. 1315 (2011).

    5. Rochelle C. Dreyfuss & James P. Evans, From Bilski Back to Benson: Preemption, Inventing Around, and the Case of Genetic Diagnostics, 63 STAN. L. REV. 1349 (2011).

    6. Robin Feldman, Whose Body Is It Anyway? Human Cells and the Strange Effects of Property and Intellectual Property Law, 63 STAN. L. REV. 1377 (2011).

    7. See Hon. James Ware, U.S. Dist. Court for the N. Dist. of Cal., Keynote Address at the Stanford Law Review Symposium: When District Judges Look Beyond Bilski, We Still See Markman (Jan. 28, 2011), available at http://www.stanfordlawreview.org/2011-symposium-keynote-address. Video recordings of all three panels and Judge Ware’s Keynote Address are available at http://www.law.stanford.edu/calendar/details/4335/#related_media.

    [cite as 63 STAN. L. REV. 1247]

    WHY BUSINESS METHOD PATENTS?

    John F. Duffy*

    The rise of business method patents in the late twentieth century, and the controversy that has accompanied such patents over the last decade, has often been cast as being precipitated by novel judicial precedent that radically departed from traditional understandings of patentable subject matter. In particular, the Federal Circuit’s decision in State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group has often been described, especially by opponents of business method patents, as an example of judicial activism that introduced patents into a field where patenting was unwanted and unnecessary. This Article demonstrates that such an explanation for the rise of business method patents is not accurate. The rise of business method patents was generated not so much by any court decision or other change in the legal system, but rather by fundamental technological and industrial changes that, during the second half of the twentieth century, began to transform many business fields into branches of engineering. This Article documents those technological and industrial changes and shows that the rise of business method patents is in fact an excellent case study in which the law followed, and accommodated, dramatic changes happening elsewhere in society.

    INTRODUCTION

    I. THE ACTIVIST COURT HYPOTHESIS AND ITS FLAWS

    A. The Patent in State Street Was an Issued Patent

    B. The Executive Branch Moved First in Eliminating Its Business Method Exception

    C. State Street Followed En Banc Precedent

    D. The Supreme Court’s Case Law Supported a Broad Approach to Patentable Subject Matter

    II. AN ALTERNATIVE THESIS: LAW FOLLOWED TECHNOLOGY

    III. BILSKI V. KAPPOS: THE FATE OF BUSINESS METHOD PATENTS

    A. Textualism’s Triumph in Bilski

    1. The trend toward textualism

    2. Bilski and textualism

    B. Wary Acceptance of Business Method Patents: Statutory Structure and the Breadth of Patentable Subject Matter

    CONCLUSION: LEGAL METHOD AND THE FUTURE OF PATENTABLE SUBJECT MATTER

    APPENDIX: FINANCIAL ENGINEERING AT TOP 20 ENGINEERING UNIVERSITIES

    INTRODUCTION

    The past dozen years have witnessed an extraordinary and at times pitched controversy over the fundamental legitimacy of so-called business method patents—i.e., patents in which the inventor’s contribution is directed toward improving processes in fields of business such as finance, credit, insurance, marketing, sales, management, and the like.¹ The controversy has spilled out across hundreds of pages of law review articles, amicus briefs, and fractured and conflicting judicial opinions. In the past year, the controversy finally came to the Supreme Court and,

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