New USPTO thinking on patent subject matter eligibility

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued interim guidance outlining procedures for determining patent subject matter eligibility under Section 101 of the U.S. patent statute that apply recent Supreme Court cases including Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International; Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN); and Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories Inc. (see BioCentury, June 17, 2013).

The "2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility" reflects the patent office's most recent thinking on how to apply the SCOTUS decisions. It refines the office's June 25 guidance, which was released soon after the Alice Corp. decision. ...