However, everyone visiting this site should do themselves a favor and read Judge Mayer's sublime dissent in the Bilski case - arguing that the majority decision doesn't go nearly far enough in curtailing patent abuses.
Mayer's dissent starts on page 98 of this PDF document and continues on through page 122.
A few small tastes of an opinion that is worth posting in its entirety:
There are a host of difficulties associated with allowing patents to issue on methods of conducting business. Not only do such patents tend to impede rather than promote innovation, they are frequently of poor quality. Most fundamentally, they raise significant First Amendment concerns by imposing broad restrictions on speech and the free flow of ideas....
Business innovations, by their very nature, provide a competitive advantage and thus generate their own incentives.
...
It is often consumers who suffer when business methods are patented...Patented products are more expensive because licensing fees are often passed on to consumers...Further, as a general matter, "quantity and quality [of patented products] are less than they would be in a competitive market."
Patenting business methods makes American companies less competitive in the global marketplace.
Read the whole thing!
