SFLC Files Amicus Brief in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, Launches Resource Page
February 27, 2014
Today, SFLC filed a brief (pdf, html, epub) amici curiae in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank before the United States Supreme Court. Filing on behalf of itself, the Free Software Foundation and the Open Source Initiative, SFLC argues that the “machine or transformation” inquiry employed by the Court in Bilski v. Kappos is the correct, and exclusive, bright line test for patent eligibility of computer-implemented inventions. Our Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank resource page contains highlights of the briefs so far and will be updated as the remaining briefs are posted.
On March 31, 2014 The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral argument in the case, in which the Court has granted certiorari, apparently to decide a question previously reserved: under what circumstances patents may be granted for inventions implemented in computer programs. A decision is expected by summer.
As a non-profit legal services firm providing legal advice and representation to non-profit and commercial parties on issues concerning free and open source software (FOSS), the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) views with grave concern the threat to free exchange of ideas embodied in computer software that has developed over the last two decades as a result of misapplication of patent law. SFLC joins with two pillars of the FOSS community to recommend to the Supreme Court a solution that preserves the Court’s long-standing patent jurisprudence, while protecting algorithms and abstract ideas from a misinterpretation of patent law that raises serious constitutional concerns. Joined in this brief by both the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Open Source Initiative (OSI), SFLC is pleased to serve a broad coalition in our community by presenting these views to the Justices for their consideration.
Press inquiries can be directed to SFLC’s Legal Director Mishi Choudhary at mishi@softwarefreedom.org