Defining a Natural Phenomenon After Prometheus

Abstract

The Supreme Court’s historical jurisprudence on patentable subject matter is wrought with confusion, confounding academics and practitioners alike. Unfortunately, the recent Prometheus decision was not the guiding beacon for patentable subject matter that the PTO, the Federal Circuit, and inventors anxiously awaited. This Note argues that the Supreme Court’s poorly crafted Prometheus decision obfuscated not only the methodology of examining a process claim relying on a natural phenomenon, but also the very understanding of a natural phenomenon itself.