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Subject Matter Eligibility Supplement:
13. July 2015 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility
| Official PDF » | 11 pgs; Document is an update to patent subject matter eligibility. |
13. July 2015 Update: Subject Matter Eligibility
This document is an update pertaining to patent subject matter eligibility. The 2014 Interim Guidance on Subject Matter Eligibility (2014 IEG) published on Dec. 16, 2014, and comments were solicited from the public.
Using new and previously issued examples and further explanation, this update responds to the six major themes from the comments.
In the discussion below, the response to each theme is addressed in a separate section, including:
- requests for additional examples, particularly for claims directed to abstract ideas and laws of nature;
- further explanation of the markedly different characteristics (MDC) analysis;
- further information regarding how examiners identify abstract ideas;
- discussion of the prima facie case and the role of evidence with respect to eligibility rejections;
- information regarding application of the 2014 IEG in the corps; and
- explanation of the role of preemption in the eligibility analysis, including a discussion of the streamlined analysis.
