Bilski v. Kappos

SEPARATE OPINIONS

Justice Stevens,

with whom Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, and Justice Sotomayor join, concurring in the judgment.

In the area of patents, it is especially important that the law remain stable and clear. The only question presented in this case is whether the so-called machine-or-transformation test is the exclusive test for what constitutes a patentable “process” under 35 U.S.C. § 101. It would be possible to answer that question simply by holding, as the entire Court agrees, that although the machine-or-transformation test is reliable in most cases, it is not the exclusive…