Business Method Patents

[J Simmons]

Tomorrow the ABA's Joint Committee on Employee Benefits is going to have a 90-minute Webcast on these topics in light of the State Street decision and the more recent KSR v Teleflex decision of the Supreme Court.

Topics are:

Overview of the Patent Process

State Street Decision and Business Method Patents

Legislative Developments

Tax Shelter Issues

World of Patenting ERISA Strategies

Where do we go from here?

This looks to be of interest.

http://meetings.abanet.org/meeting/jceb/jceb061407/

Anyone who joins in might want to report here there impressions and what the implications might be for practitioners.

[Guest mjb]

Perhaps those of you who attend can enlighten the rest of of of how an idea that exists in the public domain, eg, IRC, can be patented as unique after KSR. Can a defined benefit plan that meets the IRC 401(a) requirements be patented so as to require all employers adopting a DB plan to pay royalities to the patent holder???