Mealey's (October 19, 2017, 1:39 PM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Illinois federal judge did not err in declaring four patents ineligible under Section 101 of the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. § 101, because the invention is directed to the abstract idea of paying for public transportation with a credit card and lacks a sufficiently inventive concept, the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Oct. 18 (Smart Systems Innovations LLC v. Chicago Transit Authority, et al., No. 16-1233, Fed. Cir., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 20333)....