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Patent Court: You Can No Longer Patent Thin Air
Mashable! — ... In what could be seen as a victory for doers, and a bit of a setback for thinkers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has made a rather significant ruling on what is and isn’t patentable. The court ruled against a man who was attempting to patent “a method for hedging against weather-related effects on businesses.” As a result, infamous patents like Amazon’s “one-click” shopping concept may no longer be valid, because they don’t either “involve a particular machine” or “physically transform anything.” ...

Patent ruling: Good or bad for tech innovation?
Between the Lines — ... A rejection of a patent application by a U.S. appeals court today is expected to send shockwaves through some industries, notably the software industry, as it will likely put an end to the patenting of “business methods” considered to be more entrepreneurial than innovative. Meanwhile, some say the ruling is a victory for innovation and exactly what’s been needed to bring an end to patent hoarding practices and frivolous patent lawsuits. The rejected application involved a method that could be used to manage the business risks created by sudden movements in the energy costs. ...

Linkpost | 10.31.2008
TechBlog — ... - A list of cool things coming in the iPhone 2.2 software. • Court limits 'business method' patents - Potentially changes the patent landscape. • ...