State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc.

State Street Bank & Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, Inc. (1998) was a key court case that clarified patent law regarding financial inventions. The court ruled that a computer-implemented method for managing mutual fund investments could be patented if it produced a "useful, concrete, and tangible result." This decision established the "useful, concrete, and tangible result" test, making it easier to patent certain software and business methods, and significantly influenced the technology and intellectual property fields by broadening what inventions could be protected by patents.