The non-statutory judicial exception to patentability for
printed matter has its origins in a line of U.S. cases dating back
to the 19th century. Over the years, a printed matter rule arose to
assess whether printed matter recited in a claim provides
patentable weight. More specifically, the printed matter rule is
applied to determine whether a claim directed to content of
information recorded in a substrate is patentable for considering
subject matter (35 U.S.C. 101), novelty (35 U.S.C. 102) and/or
obviousness (35 U.S.C. 103) where the primary difference between
the claimed subject matter and the prior art lies in that
content.
The printed matter rule provides that printed matter may be
considered a claim element with patentable weight if the claim is
directed to a new and useful feature of physical structure or a new
and useful relation between the printed matter and the physical
structure.1
