Slew of Petitions Seek Justices’ Opinion on Patent Eligibility

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Jan. 10 whether to revisit patent eligibility for the first time in nearly six years—and potentially clarify what some say is rampant confusion over the court’s previous decisions.

The justices will review several petitions involving questions about when an invention can be patented, including three that attorneys say they’re watching closely following a pair of briefs from the Trump administration in December.

Intellectual property groups and practitioners have called for clearer rules on patent eligibility following earlier Supreme Court decisions. Congress’ latest efforts to rewrite Section 101 of the Patent Act, which sets the ...