Patently-O Bits and Bytes

• Bilski Watch: Dissenting & Concurring Opinions: In discussing the timing of Bilski v. Kappos, several commentators suggested that the delay might indicate (1) that the court will issue multiple opinions (concurrences or dissents); or (2) that the decision will be especially long. 
• Based on the 18–previous patent decisions, neither of those suggestions hold much water. Namely, the argument-to-decision delay appears to be negatively correlated with the number of dissenting and/or concurring opinions. Likewise, the number of pages in the decision does not appear to have any correlation with the delay.
• New Data: Google is now providing free bullk-downloading of USPTO data: http://www.google.com/googlebooks/uspto.html