By Alex Lee, Penn Law '17

Suppose I create a new computer program that gathers all the data on the personal computer of every student at Penn and uses a highly accurate matchmaking algorithm to pair students with their ideal Penn mate.  I call it “PENNty of Fish.”  For PENNty of Fish to work, students install the program on their personal computer, run the program, and discover their perfect match.  Privacy and creepiness issues aside - is PENNty of Fish patentable?  The recent Supreme Court decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l provided some guidance, but left many questions unanswered.