[Insight-users] Judge Invalidates Software Patent, Citing Bilski

[Luis Ibanez]

http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/10/1218231


"US District Court Judge Andrew Gilford (Central District of California)
granted a summary judgment motion in DealerTrack v. Huber et al.,
finding DealerTrack's patent (US 7,181,427) — for an automated credit
application processing system — invalid

due to the recent In re Bilski court decision
that requires a patent to either involve


            'transformation'
or

            'a specific machine.'


According to Judge Gilford's ruling, DealerTrack 'appears to concede
that the claims of the '427 Patent do not meet the "transformation"
prong of the Bilski test.'

He then applied the 'specific machine' test and noted that, post-Bilski
the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has ruled several times
that 'claims reciting the use of general purpose processors or computers
do not satisfy the [Bilski] test.'

Judge Gilford analyzes the claims of the '427 patent, notes that they
state that the 'machine' involved could be
a 'dumb terminal' and a 'personal computer,'

and then concludes:


   'None of the claims of the '427 Patent require the use
    of a "particular machine,"


and the patent is thus invalid under Bilski.' DealerTrack
apparently plans to appeal the ruling. Interesting times ahead."