Tillis IP Bill Could ‘Upend’ Which Inventions Can Get Patents

Following the Supreme Court’s latest refusal to step in, Congress is getting the chance to recast the notion of patent eligibility and address one of the biggest questions in intellectual property law: When does an invention legally qualify for a patent?

“Everybody has been clamoring for more clarity in patent eligibility,” said Michelle Armond, a founding partner at Armond Wilson LLP. A bill introduced this week by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) “would really upend patent law,” she said.

IP lawyers are scouring the legislation (S. 4734), which would address the subjective underpinnings of Section 101 of the ...