The root of the problem is the failure of the Supreme Court to define “abstract ideas” in the first instance. Justice Thomas could have defined “abstract ideas” in Alice, but he casually demurred: “In any event, we need not labor to delimit the precise contours of the ‘abstract ideas’ category.” Alice Corp. Pty. Yet, it is now defined as a common law category of “abstract idea” that can be used to deconstruct a claim into one or more abstract ideas. Innovative coding technologies developed in the future will likely be found to be patent-ineligible because of the coding/decoding subcategory of abstract ideas created by the Federal Circuit. Closing ThoughtsThe absence of a definition for “abstract ideas” is the root problem.