Today EFF, together with Public Knowledge, filed an amicus brief in Nautilus v. Biosig Instruments. This case deals with a key problem with the patent system: the flood of vague and ambiguous patents. The petitioner is asking the Court to take the case and restore the Patent Act’s requirement that patent claims be definite. In other words, that patents actually put people on notice, in advance, of what they cover and what they do not.

The Federal Circuit (the intermediate appellate court that hears patent cases) expressly tolerates ambiguous patents. It allows ambigious patent claims to stand so long as a meaning can be ascribed—“however difficult that task may be” and even if this meaning is “one over which reasonable persons will disagree.” This loose standard encourages patent applicants to craft vague claims that they can stretch to cover later technology. These vague patents—which are especially prevalent in software—are the favorite tool of patent trolls. By striking down vague and ambiguous patents, the Supreme Court can improve patent quality and reduce opportunistic patent litigation.

For more about what's at stake in this case, here’s is the introduction from our brief: