What is eligible to be patented in the US? This week the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released Interim Eligibility
Guidance on patent subject matter
eligibility. In this document, the USPTO summarizes the
instructions for examiners on the following categories which are
exceptions to patent eligibility:
- abstract idea,
- natural phenomena, and
- product of nature.
This guidance is intended to synthesize the latest Supreme Court
decisions in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad
Genetics, Inc., 133 S. Ct. 2107 (2013), Mayo Collaborative
Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289
(2012) and Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank
International, 134 S. Ct. 2347 (2014). According to the
document, it supercedes prior instructions issued by the USPTO
on this topic and "offers a comprehensive view of subject
matter eligibility in line with Alice Corp, Myriad, Mayo, and the
related body of case law, and is responsive to the public
