Subject Matter Eligibility of Business Methods: Surviving 35 U.S.C. § 101

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Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Patent
- event Date
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Live Online
On Demand
The CLE course will guide patent counsel on business method patents and subject matter eligibility, examining guidance from the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit as well as the USPTO. The panel will offer best practices for drafting patents to improve the chances of success and to survive § 101 challenges.
Faculty

Mr. Bahr specializes in all areas of patent practice. He previously served as the Deputy Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy at the USPTO. During his distinguished career at the USPTO, Mr. Bahr was involved in nearly all patent-related rulemaking since 1995. His involvement in patent rulemaking includes the changes to implement the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 and the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Mr. Bahr provided administrative oversight and direction for the activities of the Office of Petitions, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of Patent Quality Assurance, Central Reexamination Unit, and Manual of Patent Examining Procedure staff during his tenure at the USPTO.

Mr. Kiklis leverages his 30 years of experience to represent clients in his areas of focus: trials at the PTAB and patent litigation. He has been involved in 100 PTAB trials. He also handles appeals to the Federal Circuit from his cases, having now been involved in over 20 appeals. He both enforces and defends the intellectual property rights of his clients and is often called upon to handle cases worth more than $100 million. Mr. Kiklis brings an in-depth understanding of the business and IP needs of his technology clients, which he developed from years of experience in virtually every kind of patent matter, from cross-licensing and due diligence to bet-the-company PTAB trials and patent litigation. He has an extensive background in computer science based on his six years of experience as a software developer at some of the computer industry’s leading companies. Mr. Kiklis provides significant and influential thought leadership as a frequent speaker and author on patent law, including patentable subject matter and PTAB trials. He is also the author of The Supreme Court on Patent Law, an 800-page treatise devoted to the Supreme Court’s patent law jurisprudence.
Description
The Federal Circuit's State Street Bank decision in 1998 confirmed the subject matter eligibility of business methods by addressing the so-called business method exception: "[w]e take this opportunity to lay this ill-conceived exception to rest." Thereafter, the floodgates opened for business method patents. The industry held many conferences devoted exclusively to business method patents and the patent world was abuzz with activity.
Then, two Supreme Court cases, Bilski (2010) and Alice (2014), struck down business method patents, and the Federal Circuit followed suit. Since Alice, the Federal Circuit has not found one business method patent valid under § 101. However, the USPTO continues to issue business method patents, thus creating a large chasm between the Federal Circuit and the patent office. Inventors with business method applications and patents are left wondering, "What do I do?"
Listen as our authoritative panel of patent attorneys examines Federal Circuit case law and USPTO guidance addressing business method eligibility.
Outline
I. Guidance from the courts
A. Supreme Court
B. Federal Circuit
II. USPTO guidance on business method patents
Benefits
The panel will review these and other issues:
- How to draft a business method patent to maximize the chances of success at the patent office and to defend against subject matter eligibility challenges at both the district court and the Federal Circuit
- What are the best arguments to make at the district court or the Federal Circuit to defend a business method patent?
- What are the best arguments to make at the USPTO to gain allowance of a business method patent?
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Subject Matter Eligibility of Business Methods: Surviving 35 U.S.C. § 101
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT