I am, frankly, amazed that gene patents are now ineligible where software/business method patents remain so. This might be consistent with whatever theology the

I am, frankly, amazed that gene patents are now ineligible where software/business method patents remain so. This might be consistent with whatever theology the courts have sanctified, but it is the exact opposite of what makes sense for business and innovation. Firms are forced to pay for their research toward FDA approval, and that approval is extended only to a very specific drug or treatment. The narrowness of this channel yields one of the only business situations where patent law, from an innovation perspective, makes sense. Contrast this with business method patents and software patents: you can use a zillion different idea, each independently patentable, for any business or product, there is a much smaller barrier to entry, and there are many ways to accomplish the same thing. Patents go from being quite valuable for the innovator to being, at best, a distraction, and at worst, a minefield. Oy.