On September 16, 2020, Covered Business Method (CBM) review proceedings reached their eight-year expiration date, put in place in 2012 with the enactment of the America Invents Act (AIA).
CBM review was implemented so parties could “challenge weak patents, i.e., patents that should not have been issued in view of the Supreme Court’s Bilski decision and, later, its Alice decision.” Unlike inter partes review (IPR) proceedings which only permit challenges based on prior art, CBM proceedings allowed challenges based on patent eligibility. Whether or not CBM will be extended is still under consideration.
