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ARTICLE · 16 JANUARY 2015

Five Things You Need To Know About The USPTO Interim Guidelines On 101

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The USPTO issued interim guidelines on 101 ("Interim Guidance") on December 15, 2014.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Courtenay Brinckerhoff
Courtenay Brinckerhoff
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The USPTO issued interim guidelines on 101 ("Interim Guidance") on December 15, 2014. We summarized the Interim Guidance in this post here, and now highlight five things practitioners and stakeholders need to know as they consider how to apply the Interim Guidance to specific claims.

1. The Interim Guidance Supersedes the March 4, 2014 Guidance

The Interim Guidance supersedes the March 4, 2014 Guidance, which means that the March Guidance no longer should be applied to evaluate patent eligibility. Applicants facing a rejection issued under the March Guidance should respond under the Interim Guidance.

(I have been informed that Examiners will not be reissuing Office Actions to apply the Interim Guidance instead of the March Guidance.)

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