Bilski v. Kappos: The Blockbuster That Was a Bust

Direct marketers and internet retailers pinned their hopes on Bilski, hoping that the Supreme Court would either invalidate business method patents altogether or announce an easily applied test to screen out unpatentable business methods. If a company could short–circuit these cases early, it could get back to the business of selling chinos, books or whatever, without spending countless dollars defending unintelligible patent claims. The Supreme Court’s failure to announce a clear test means that direct marketers will be forced to defend, and likely settle, these claims for the foreseeable future.