At the time and during the following decade, this ruling was considered by many to be significant because previously "methods of doing business" had been widely thought not to be eligible for patent grants. For example, in "Hotel Security Checking Co. v. Lorraine Co.", the Second Circuit held that a bookkeeping system to prevent waiters from stealing customer payments for meals could not be patented. In "Joseph E. Seagram & Sons v. Marzell", the D.C. Circuit held that a patent on "blind testing" whiskey blends for consumer preferences would be "a serious restraint upon the advance of science and industry" and therefore should be refused.