October 2019 § 101 Guidance - Clarifications, Reiterations, And A New Procedure

Since the Supreme Court decided Alice v. CLS Bank in June 2014, the USPTO regularly issued new memoranda explaining its implementation of the § 101 framework. This includes some of the more notable memos for prosecutors: the memo on Enfish v. Microsoft from May 2016, the memo on McRO and BASCOM from November 2016, and dozens of eligibility examples. Much of that guidance is incorporated into the MPEP. While the guidance does not have the force of law, patent examiners are expected to follow it.

On October 17, 2019, the USPTO issued new guidance - 22 pages worth - on § 101. While it covers fewer topics than past guidance, it goes into more detail on Step 2A - providing clarifications, reiterating certain concepts, and introducing a new procedure for abstract ideas falling outside of the enumerated groups in the January 2019 guidance ( New Year, New Section 101 Guidance:  Welcome 2019!). There are also new examples ( USPTO's 101 site).