• October 30, 2008

In a ruling that could have broad implications for Web companies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Thursday said companies can't obtain valid patents for what amount to methods of conducting business.

The court invalidated a claim for a method of hedging risk in commodities trading. The court held that this type of process could not be patented because it wasn't linked to a machine and didn't transform anything.

The 9-3 ruling signals that the court would invalidate other patents relating to business methods should they be challenged in court.--Wendy Davis