USPTO Updates Examination Procedures for Determining Patent Subject Matter Eligibility
On April 19, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a memorandum informing the Examining Corps of recent changes in examination procedure for subject matter eligibility. The bedrock of subject matter eligibility found in 35 U.S.C § 101 specifies that “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof” may be patent eligible. However, the Supreme Court has established several judici