Has our patent system lost its way? Courts, commentators, and even practitioners are increasingly pining for the good old days, when patents were granted for inventions like the Wright Brothers' airplane, rather than Priceline.com's name-your-own-price model of selling airline tickets over the Internet. (1) In 1998, the Federal Circuit issued its landmark State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Fin. Group, Inc. decision, (2) which gave the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("Patent Office") the green light to award patents for so-called "business methods," such as Amazon.com's "1-click" Internet sales method. (3) Business methods are excluded from patentability in many countries, (4) and the State Street decision holding otherwise has been roundly criticized. (5) Several members of the current Supreme Court have expressed misgivings over business method patents. (6) In response to this outcry, Congress passed legislation that weakened the protections afforded to business methods. (7)
