Re:don't get your hopes up (Score 3, Informative)

I wouldn't go so far as to say the Court can't rule on the question here. It's unusual, but the Supreme Court has been known in the past to base a case on an issue other than the one brought to appeal. In the past, this has been done when the Court wants to base its decision on broader grounds than were appealed. If the Court does rule on the question of patentability of software in this case, it would be consistent with occasions in the past when the Court has 'expanded' the question to make a broader policy statement.