Barrett offers views on IP during confirmation hearing
US Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has added her voice to calls for more clarity regarding patent eligibility following a spate of controversial rulings by the US courts, and has said that Congress would be best placed to assess how copyright law should be applied to new technology.
Seventh Circuit Judge Barrett made the comments concerning IP law yesterday, Wednesday 14 October, during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, in response to questions from Senator Thom Tillis, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's IP subcommittee.
Tillis has been critical of rulings in cases such as Alice v CLS Bank, which determined that abstract ideas implemented using a computer were invalid for patent eligibility. Last year, US senators released a draft bill to reform Section 101, one of the most debated sections of the country’s Patent Act. Tillis said the draft framework represents a “true balance that will restore integrity, predictability and stability” to the US patent system, “while also preventing the issuance of overly broad patents”.
During the hearing this week, Tillis said: “We've seen a lot of Supreme Court cases that have waded into patent eligibility and produced a series of opinions that have really muddled the waters.” He asked for her views on those rulings and whether she thinks the court should offer more clarification.
While Barrett did concede that she was unaware of the particular cases that Tillis was referring to, she said: “I would say that clarity in decision-making is always something that courts should strive for.”
She added: ‘I know on the Seventh Circuit we try, and I try, to be attuned to in writing opinions, whether it gives good guidance to lower courts and then also to those who are trying to order their conduct in compliance with the law," she said. “So I think clarity is certainly a virtue in this context.”
Judge Barrett does not have a significant background in IP matters, as patent cases do not go to the Seventh Circuit.
When asked whether the Supreme Court or the US Congress should address questions around copyright law and new technology, Coney Barrett said she favoured Congress for this purpose.
“Most of the things you are identifying sound to me like matters of policy,” she said. “So those seem like matters that are best addressed by the legislature; the democratically elected body, not policy made by courts,” she said.
Tillis has argued that copyright law overly protects technology firms to the detriment of copyright owners. The Senate hearing on Judge Barrett's nomination concludes today.
Commenting on Barrett's statements, Josh Reisberg, partner at Axinn, said: “On patent eligibility in particular, IP practitioners should not take Judge Barrett’s comments as a signal that she will address the issue any differently from how the court has approached the issue in the past—that is to say, with varying degrees of ambiguity or by denying certiorari (which has been the case overwhelmingly in recent years).”
He added:“Fundamentally, Judge Barrett’s comments reflect that she will not be the wind of change on matters concerning IP. If Congress wishes to abrogate any issues of patent eligibility or modernise US copyright law, Congress will need to enact legislation to accomplish these goals."
To find out more about challenges in the US patent landscape, watch a LSPN Connect session here.
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