The glut of seemingly obvious patents granted in the US in recent years could be invalidated by a Supreme Court decision last week.
In a ruling that shocked patent lawyers, the court said that a patent application should not be granted if it is 鈥渢he product not of innovation but of ordinary skill and common sense鈥�.
Although the decision merely reaffirms code 103 of the US Patent Act, which outlaws patents on obvious inventions, the Supreme Court says lower courts have let this principle drift. In 1999 Amazon was infamously granted a patent on a system to 鈥渂uy online with one mouse click鈥�.
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The ruling was seized upon by internet phone firm Vonage, which was recently found to have infringed rival Verizon鈥檚 patents. While denying Vonage a retrial, a federal court said it could use the ruling in its upcoming appeal.
