The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Federal Court of Appeals ruling in Bilski v. Kappos, a case that raised fundamental questions about what can and cannot be patented. The case centered on whether a method for hedging risk in commodities trading is patentable, but threatened to upend the molecular diagnostics business in the process. Though the justices upheld the lower court’s ruling, it left open the ability for companies to get so-called business method patents. We spoke to Ken Chahine, a visiting professor of law at the University of Utah, about what the decision did and didn’t say, what other cases are in the works that may provide the clarity some hoped the Bilski decision would provide, and why the biotechnology industry is cheering.