USPTO Contemplates Revisions to Patent Eligibility Guidance
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Andrei Iancu recently announced that the Patent Office is contemplating revised guidance aimed at providing patent examiners more clarity and direction on determining subject matter eligibility under §101. At the 46th Intellectual Property Owners Association Annual Meeting, Director Iancu discussed at length the struggles the examiners face with the current case law on patent eligibility, and highlighted the urgent need for additional guidance. He referenced the Mayo/Alice framework, and noted that, "significantly more work needs to be done, especially on the 'abstract idea' exception." The proposed guidance would, Director Iancu remarked, "help drive more predictability back into the analysis while remaining true to the case law that gave rise to these judicial exceptions in the first place."
