A US patent appeals court ruled yesterday that business methods, such as Amazon.com's one-click to buy goods on the Internet, cannot be patented.
The case was closely watched by software makers, Internet companies, investment houses and other businesses.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the patent application in question, a method for reducing the risk of sudden changes in energy costs, was not a machine and did not result in a transformation, both standards set by the US Supreme Court for patentability.
Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw had challenged the US Patent and Trademark Office's rejection of their request to patent their method for managing energy price risks.
"The decision of the board is affirmed," the court said.
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