In Bloomberg Law, Regina Sam Penti Discusses USPTO Patent Eligibility Report

In a Bloomberg Law article, IP transactions partner Regina Sam Penti discussed the results of a new study from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office finding a division among practitioners on the state of patent eligibility. The report found a split among practitioners on whether the current state of patent eligibility jurisprudence is tenable, with companies facing costly litigation related to what they deem to be “overbroad” patents, particularly in the software field, backing the status quo, while startups and life-sciences companies argued that limiting eligibility stifles innovation and favors large, entrenched companies.

Regina noted that she expects the USPTO to take steps to build on the report to clarify patent eligibility issues to provide more clarity and predictability, reversing some of the undesirable effects of having a patent system that can be difficult to rely on for certain innovations.