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ARTICLE · 06 FEBRUARY 2006

USPTO Clarifies Criteria for Patentable Subject Matter

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Two developments in the United States may mean that it will be easier to patent business methods, software and similar types of inventions.

CanadaIntellectual Property
Signe Silver
Signe Silver
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Two developments in the United States may mean that it will be easier to patent business methods, software and similar types of inventions. In Ex parte Lundgren, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ruled that U.S. law does not require that an invention meet a "technological arts" criterion in order to be patented. USPTO then released a set of interim guidelines for USPTO examiners to use in evaluating inventions. The guidelines require that an invention accomplish a "practical application" in order to be patentable. These developments appear to broaden the scope of patentable subject matter, although the subject matter must still meet the stringent "novelty" and "obviousness" standards in the United States.

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