Georgetown Law
Technology Review

It’s a pleasure to be with all of you this afternoon as we discuss “The Role of the Courts in Shaping Patent Law & Policy.” And what better to address on this issue than the judicial exceptions to § 101? So, you will forgive me if we get a bit into the weeds today, as this is obviously a complex topic.

“It will be of little avail to the people . . . if the laws be so incoherent that they cannot be understood,” James Madison said in 1788. Known as the “Father of the Constitution,” Madison also recognized the importance of intellectual property (IP). In Federalist 43, for example, he addressed the constitutional power to create an IP system, stating that “the utility of this power will scarcely be questioned” because “the public good fully coincides . . . with the claims of individuals.”