The USPTO has issued new "interim" guidance for
determining whether claims are eligible for patenting under 35 USC
35 U.S.C. § 101. Assuming the guidance document is published
in the December 16, 2014 Federal Register, it will be effective as
of that date, and apply to all pending and newly filed
applications.
Stakeholders and practitioners in the biotechnology, chemical,
and pharmaceutical fields are likely to be relieved that the
guidance takes a more reasonable approach than the March 4, 2014
guidance issued under the Supreme Court decisions in
Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics,
Inc., 569 U.S., 133 S. Ct. 2107, 2116, 106 USPQ2d 1972 (2013),
and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories,
Inc., 566 U.S. _132 S. Ct. 1289, 101 USPQ2d 1961 (2012),
Stakeholders and practitioners in the computer sciences and
business methods fields may not find much new beyond the
preliminary instructions issued June 25, 2014 in the wake of the
Supreme
