The Supreme Court’s denial of cert. in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, 967 F.3d 1285 (Fed. Cir. 2020) contributes to the history of uncertainty surrounding patent eligible subject matter determinations. The case has also spurred debate over whether the current state of play advances or harms innovation. The Federal Courts, the USPTO, and Congress have responded to this the uncertainty in several ways, including proposed legislation. In this session, points of discussion will include:

• Evaluating the Supreme Court’s denial to grant cert. in American Axle & Manufacturing v. Neapco Holdings after the Solicitor General’s support for a partial grant
• Examining the Second Tillis-Coons proposal to reform §101
• Understanding the rationale behind the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2022 (PERA)
• Analyzing the impact of the Deferred Subject Matter Eligibility Project on U.S. patent drafting
• Devising strategies for overcoming ineligibility rejections from the USPTO
• Discussing the future statutory and jurisprudential landscape of §101
• Predicting the impact on investment and innovation