IP Alerts

October 17, 2019

Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced notice of an update to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG).

The October 2019 Update responds to public comments regarding the 2019 PEG. According to the USPTO, the update provides further explanation on the five major themes extracted from the comments:

1. Evaluating whether a claim recites a judicial exception
2. The groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in the 2019 PEG
3. Evaluating whether a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application
4. The prima facie case and the role of evidence with respect to eligibility rejections
5. The application of the 2019 PEG in the patent examining corps

The update also includes appendices providing new exemplary subject matter eligibility analyses of claims, a comprehensive index of examples for use with the 2019 PEG, and an updated chart listing selected eligibility cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The October 2019 Update materials are available to access on the Subject Matter Eligibility page of the USPTO website. Instructions for submitting feedback are also available on the Subject Matter Eligibility page.

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