Supreme Court agrees to decide on Alice v CLS
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Supreme Court agrees to decide on Alice v CLS

The Supreme Court has confirmed it will hear oral arguments in Alice’s dispute with CLS Bank, in a case that will rule on the extent to which software and business methods are patentable.

The US Supreme Court today agreed to hear Alice v CLS. Next year’s verdict in the landmark case will provide clarity over when, if ever, an otherwise abstract idea is patent-eligible under Section 101.

Alice Corporation in September asked the Court to review the Federal Circuit’s decision in its dispute with CLS Bank. In an en banc decision in May this year, the 10 Federal Circuit judges split 5-5 on Alice’s claims to computer system inventions. This split meant the district court summary judgment that the claims were unpatentable was upheld.

Alice is an electronic financial marketplace that is 50% owned by National Australia Bank. The Supreme Court decision will have big ramifications for the software industry.

Legal arguments are likely to start in March with a verdict to follow by the end of June.

Alice is represented by Supreme Court specialist Carter Phillips with other lawyers from Sidley Austin’s Washington, DC and Chicago office. Phillips has argued 76 cases before the Supreme Court including patent trials LA v Quanta and eBay v MercEchange.

May’s Federal Court decision followed a 2-1 panel decision to uphold Alice’s patents in July 2012, which created inconsistencies in the way that judges have interpreted Section 101. Chief Judge Rader recently admitted the 2012 ruling was “the greatest failure in my judicial career”. He added: “I think we have a responsibility to deal with what we are given and try to provide guidance in the right direction and we did not do that.”

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A 36-member team from Zhong Lun Law Firm, including six partners, will join the newly formed East IP Group
The Delhi High Court sided with Ericsson against Indian smartphone maker Lava, bringing the companies' nine-year dispute to a close
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Gift this article