article and questions
Over the past decade, thousands of patents have been granted for what are called business methods. Amazon.com received one for its “one-click” online payment system. Merrill Lynch got legal protection for an asset allocation strategy. One inventor patented a technique for lifting a box.
Now the nation’s top patent court appears completely ready to scale back on business-method patents, which have been controversial ever since they were first authorized 10 years ago. In a move that has intellectual-property lawyers abuzz, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it would use a particular case to conduct a broad review of business-method patents. In re Bilski, as the case is known, is “a very big deal,” says Dennis D. Crouch of the University of Missouri School of Law. It “has the potential to eliminate an entire class of patents.”
Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face, because it was the Federal Circuit itself that introduced such patents with its 1998 decision in the so-called State Street Bank case, approving a patent on a way of pooling mutual-fund assets. That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings, initially by emerging Internet companies trying to stake out exclusive rights to specific types of online transactions. Later, more established companies raced to add such patents to their files, if only as a defensive move against rivals that might beat them to the punch. In 2005, IBM noted in a court filing that it had been issued more than 300 business-method patents, despite the fact that it questioned the legal basis for granting them. Similarly, some Wall Street investment firms armed themselves with patents for financial products, even as they took positions in court cases opposing the practice.
The Bilski case involves a claimed patent on a method for hedging risk in the energy market. The Federal Circuit issued an unusual order stating that the case would be heard by all 12 of the court’s judges, rather than a typical panel of three, and that one issue it wants to evaluate is whether it should “reconsider” its State Street Bank ruling.
The Federal Circuit’s action comes in the wake of a series of recent decisions by the Supreme Court that has narrowed the scope of protections for patent holders. Last April, for example, the justices signaled that too many patents were being upheld for “inventions” that are obvious. The judges on the Federal Circuit are “reacting to the anti-patent trend at the Supreme Court,” says Harold C. Wegner, a patent attorney and professor at George Washington University Law School.
26. Business-method patents have recently aroused concern because of
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A. their limited value to businesses.
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B. their connection with asset allocation.
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C. the possible restriction on their granting.
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D. the controversy over their authorization.
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定位依据：
- 第二段”scale back on business-method patents”（缩减专利）
- 第三段”curbs on business-method claims”（限制主张）
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排除逻辑：
- A 项”limited value”无依据（原文未提价值问题）
- D 项时间错位（争议始于 10 年前，非近期原因）
27. Which of the following is true of the Bilski case?
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A. Its ruling complies with the court decisions.
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B. It involves a very big business transaction.
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C. It has been dismissed by the Federal Circuit.
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D. It may change the legal practices in the U.S.
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关键证据链：
- 第二段”conduct a broad review”（全面审查）
- 第四段”evaluate 是否 reconsider State Street 案判决”
- 末段”反专利趋势”（Supreme Court 先例影响）
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深度分析：
- D 项”change legal practices”涵盖：审查标准+可能推翻先例
28. The word “about-face” (Line 1, Para. 3) most probably means
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A. loss of goodwill.
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B. increase of hostility.
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C. change of attitude.
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D. enhancement of dignity.
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语境解码：
- 前文”准备缩减专利” vs 后文”法院 1998 年首创专利”
- 矛盾关系 → 态度转变（about-face）
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干扰项陷阱：
- B 项”hostility”过度解读（仅政策调整，非敌意）
29. We learn from the last two paragraphs that business-method patents
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A. are immune to legal challenges.
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B. are often unnecessarily issued.
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C. lower the esteem for patent holders.
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D. increase the incidence of risks.
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末段支撑点：
- “too many patents for obvious inventions”（过多显而易见”发明”获专利）
- IBM 案例”质疑法律基础仍申请专利”（防御性申请）
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正确项特征：
- “unnecessarily issued”=obvious inventions+defensive move
30. Which of the following would be the subject of the text?
note
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A. A looming threat to business-method patents.
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B. Protection for business-method patent holders.
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C. A legal case regarding business-method patents.
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D. A prevailing trend against business-method patents.
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标题题方法论：
- 时间轴：专利泛滥(1998)→ 审查收紧(现在)→ 未来可能废除
- 核心矛盾：联邦法院自我政策反转
- 关键词：“looming threat”精准对应：
- potential to eliminate（第二段）
- reconsider ruling（第四段）
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干扰项排除：
- D 项”prevailing trend”过度（尚未最终裁决）
单词整理
| 单词/短语 | 词性 | 翻译/解释 | 重要搭配/备注 |
|---|---|---|---|
| grant | v. | 授予 | ~ patents（授予专利） |
| scale back on | ph. | 缩减 | ~ business-method patents |
| intellectual-property | n. | 知识产权 | ~ lawyers（知识产权律师） |
| abuzz | adj. | 议论纷纷的 | has…~（引起热议） |
| conduct | v. | 进行 | ~ a review（开展审查） |
| potential | n. | 可能性 | has the ~ to（有可能…） |
| curb | n. | 限制 | ~s on claims（对主张的限制） |
| Circuit | n. | 巡回法院 | Federal ~（联邦巡回上诉法院） |
| mutual-fund | n. | 共同基金 | ~ assets（共同基金资产） |
| emerging | adj. | 新兴的 | ~ companies（新兴公司） |
| stake out | ph. | 主张 | ~ exclusive rights（主张专有权） |
| exclusive | adj. | 独占的 | ~ rights（专有权） |
| despite | prep. | 尽管 | ~ the fact（尽管…事实） |
| hedge | v. | 对冲 | ~ risk（对冲风险） |
| attorney | n. | 律师 | patent ~（专利律师） |
| hostility | n. | 敌意 | increase of ~（敌意增加） |
| esteem | n. | 尊重 | lower the ~（降低尊重） |
| looming | adj. | 逼近的 | ~ threat（逼近的威胁） |
| regard | v. | 关于 | ~ing（关于） |
| prevailing | adj. | 盛行的 | ~ trend（盛行趋势） |
句子分析
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Curbs on business-method claims would be a dramatic about-face…
- 结构：主句(Curbs…would be…) + 原因状语从句(because…)
- 重点：about-face 与后文 State Street Bank 案形成强烈对比，突出政策逆转
- 翻译：限制商业方法专利主张将是一次戏剧性逆转，因为正是联邦巡回法院在 1998 年道富银行案中首创了这类专利。
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That ruling produced an explosion in business-method patent filings…
- 结构：主句(That ruling produced…) + 分词短语(trying to…) + 并列句(Later,…)
- 因果链：判决 → 专利激增（新兴公司 → 老牌公司）→ 防御性申请
- 翻译：该裁决导致商业方法专利申请激增，最初是新兴互联网公司试图获得在线交易的专有权，后来更多老牌公司也竞相申请此类专利作为防御手段。
短语总结
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scale back on 缩减（政策/规模）
- 原文应用：scale back on business-method patents
- 同义：reduce, cut down on
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conduct a review 开展审查
- 法律场景：court ~s a review of patents
- 扩展：~ an investigation（开展调查）
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stake out rights 主张权利
- 商业用法：~ exclusive rights to transactions
- 类比：claim rights（主张权利）
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beat sb to the punch 抢先一步
- 原文语境：defensive move against rivals that might ~
- 同义：preempt
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in the wake of 在…之后
- 搭配：~ Supreme Court decisions
- 近义：following
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react to the trend 对趋势作出反应
- 主体：Federal Circuit judges ~
- 反义：ignore the trend（忽视趋势）
思考
这篇还挺难的，我真牛 B, 居然全对