Under the KSR decision (KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007)) by the Supreme Court nothing is patentable under the sun, unless you believe in black magic.  The Supreme Court in the Bilski (http://hallingblog.com/2009/11/10/bilski-case-reveals-supremes-ignorance/) oral arguments proved that the justices do not have the competence of a first year patent law associate.  KSR shows that the justices do not understand basic physics. 

See if you can spot the errors in physics in the following statements.  “The combination of familiar elements according to known methods is likely to be obvious when it does no more than yield predictable results.” KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 416 (2007).  “A court must ask whether the improvement is more than the predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions.” Id. at 417.  While the Supreme Court’s writing is not the model of clarity, the Court thinks these statements are equivalent.  The Court is saying that a patent for an invention made of known elements (prior art elements, familiar elements) and connections (according to known methods) is likely to not be patentable. 

Every real invention is a combination of known elements, unless you can violate the conservation of matter and energy – black magic.  The fact that the Supreme Court does not know this basic application of the laws of physics demonstrates that it is incompetent to rule on patent matters.  Another flaw in their logic is that if an inventor filed for a patent with an element that was completely new, then the Patent Office would reject the application, appropriately, as failing to clearly and distinctly claim their invention under 35 USC 112, second paragraph.  The fact that the Supreme Court does not understand the legal contradictions of their opinion, demonstrates that they do not understand the basics of patent law.