On June 28, owners of business method patents narrowly dodged a bullet. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, by a scant 5-4 vote, that business methods can indeed be patented.

The decision in Bilski v. Kappos, however, also brought ominous news for these patents. By holding that the business method at issue in the case was unpatentable, the ruling casts a shadow over many existing business method patents.