“The Patent Act adopted by Congress provides that a person shall be entitled to a patent if an invention meets three conditions: the eligibility condition of 35 U.S.C. § 101, the novelty condition of 35 U.S.C. § 102, and the non-obvious subject matter condition of 35 U.S.C. § 103. Beyond the Patent Act, the judiciary has created a fourth condition for patentability called non-statutory double patenting or obviousness-type double patenting.”
“The Questions Presented Are:”
1. “Does the judiciary have the authority to require a patent applicant to meet a condition for patentability not required by the Patent Act?”
2. “Is the judicially created doctrine of non-statutory double patenting ultra vires?”