It would seem that the Supreme Court of the United States is really thinking hard about the Bilski case. As you can see from the graph above, the case has been in deliberation longer than any other patent case of the last 20. I'm not a lawyer, so I really can't say if that's a bad thing, or a good thing for either side involved.
What is certain, however, is that the case obviously has far-reaching implications for our patent system, and obviously the SCOTUS knows this as well. Hopefully, we'll luck out and get a ruling by the end of the week so we can all stop waiting with baited breath to see whether or not business method patents will still be legal after all is said and done.
Software patents may get a bit of a going-over, as well, if the ruling is far-reaching enough. So while the rest of the world watches the FIFA World Cup, we here in the states will be watching one of our favorite and oldest sports: litigation.