And concerning Microsoft, it is no secret that IBM and Microsoft want the Bilski test. For software patent proponents it makes sense to be in favour of the Bilski test. For software patent opponents it makes sense to be in favour of the Bilski test. For ruthless patent agents it makes sense to expand business.

A hot discussion topic in the US is expansion to tax advisory scheme patentability!

See for example this, which refers to the Bilski court as “the court of appeals”:

“In any event, the court of appeals emphasized that its
decision in this case —–does —not—address the application of
the machine-or-transformation test to computer software—–,
data-manipulation techniques, or other such technologies
not involved in petitioners’ risk-hedging claim.
See, e.g., Pet. App. 25a n.23 (“[T]he process claim at issue
in this appeal is not, in any event, a software claim.
Thus, the facts here would be largely unhelpful in illuminating
the distinctions between those software claims
that are patent-eligible and those that are not.”); id. at 28a”

See page 14 of this document from the PTO website:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/2007-1130uspto_opposition_to_certiorari.pdf

Also note that this document is a petition to the Supreme Court by the PTO begging the court not to review Bilski. Apparently the PTO is concerned that the Supremes will see the none-sense behind the curtain.

The US examination system has these test boxes, and it works like a flowchart. The machine or transformation is now one of them and it was made defunct, which caused severe trouble in the examination process, and so they reconstructed the test with Bilski case law.

The Bilski test is also backed by large software patent holders. It would not surprise me to find Microsoft in support of the Bilski test. The real issue is how to speed up examination and get rid off the insane backlog.