"Although all of the justices agreed that the invention at issue was unpatentable, the opinion is fractionated, with justices joining various pieces of the opinion, and Justices Stevens and Breyer writing concurrences to elaborate their views hostile to patenting in the information sector. Justice Kennedy's plurality decision held that the Federal Circuit's Machine-or-Transformation test could not be an exclusive test under section 101, although subsequent tests could be propounded consistent with the Court's precedent. […]
To many, the Supreme Court punted the issue and created more issues, e.g., in litigation. Although clarity would have been appreciated, the court, mindful of the minefield through which it was treading, desiring to avoid unforeseen aftereffects, such as those that chilled the software industry decades ago."
EcommerceTimes: Bilski Brouhaha: Supreme Court Keeps Stevens at Bay
Summary:
Although all of the justices agreed that the invention at issue was unpatentable, the opinion is fractionated, with justices joining various pieces of the opinion, and Justices Stevens and Breyer writing concurrences to elaborate their views hostile to patenting in the information sector. Justice Kennedy's plurality decision held that the Federal Circuit's Machine-or-Transformation test could not be an exclusive test under section 101, although subsequent tests could be propounded consistent with the Court's precedent.
