As reported today, David Kappos, the former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office called for the abolition of Section 101 of the Patent Act, which sets limits on patent-eligible subject matter, saying decisions like Alice on the issue are a “real mess” and threaten patent protection for key U.S. industries.

Kappos was quoted as saying “It’s time to abolish Section 101, and the reason I say that is that Europe doesn’t have 101 and Asia doesn’t have 101 and they seem to be doing just fine in constraining patent-eligible subject matter”.

Kappos, like many others in the patent field, are now recommending that their clients more aggressively seek protection in other countries where protection for biotechnology and software is readily available.

Its a sad commentary to the state of the law when the former Director of the USPTO is recommending to his clients that they seek protection in other countries due to the mess the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit have made of Section 101.