I. INTRODUCTION In 1990, Metabolite's corporate predecessor obtained a patent on methods of measuring certain vitamin deficiencies. In several patent claims, it described its blood test in detail; in another claim, it asserted the exclusive right to any method that involves measuring the level of a particular chemical and "correlating" any elevation with a vitamin deficiency. The Supreme Court initially granted certiorari on the question of whether this claim could be construed so broadly that a doctor's mental correlation of one number with another would constitute infringement. However, after the question was completely briefed--including the filing of twenty-one amicus briefs (1)--and oral arguments had been heard, the Court dismissed certiorari as having been improvidently granted.
