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The Patent Eligibility Eras Tour: 11 Years Of Post-Alice Tumult
Law360
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In June of this year, the Supreme Court’s decision in Alice v. CLS Bank turned 11 years old — a case that declared a new test for when claims are ineligible for being directed to abstract ideas. Unlike other major Supreme Court cases on patent law, Alice introduced an entirely new doctrine for which no one had any experience. And after each new lower court case implementing it, patent applicants and litigants grasped on to whatever new language or fact patterns might be useful for their causes. Similarly, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has continually tried to adapt Office policy to match these shifting standards.
In a recent article for Law360, Principal Michael Shepherd reflects back on how and when the standards of patent eligibility have shifted in the 11 years since Alice through several, sometimes-overlapping, eras.
This article was originally published on August 12, 2025 by Law360.
Read the full article: The Patent Eligibility Eras Tour: 11 Years Of Post-Alice Tumult - Law360
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