[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 125 (Monday, June 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 36786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15352]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2014-0036]
Request for Comments and Extension of Comment Period on
Examination Instruction and Guidance Pertaining to Patent-Eligible
Subject Matter
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) recently
issued a decision in Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank
International (Alice Corp.), which dealt with claims to a computerized
scheme for mitigating settlement risk. The Supreme Court held in a
unanimous decision that the claimed subject matter was not patent-
eligible because it was drawn to the abstract idea of intermediated
settlement implemented on a generic computer. The United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued preliminary instructions on
Alice Corp. to the patent examining corps and these preliminary
instructions have been posted on the USPTO's Internet Web site. The
USPTO is inviting public comment on the Alice Corp. preliminary
instructions. The USPTO is also extending the period for public comment
on the Examination Guidance For Determining Subject Matter Eligibility
Of Claims Reciting Or Involving Laws of Nature, Natural Phenomena, and
Natural Products (Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance).
DATES: Written comments on the Alice Corp. preliminary instructions
and/or on the Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance must be received
on or before July 31, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the Alice Corp. preliminary instructions may be
sent by electronic mail message over the Internet addressed to: alice_2014@uspto.gov.
Comments on the Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance may be
sent by electronic mail message over the Internet addressed to: myriad-mayo_2014@uspto.gov.
Comments that apply to both the Alice Corp. preliminary
instructions and the Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance may be
sent by electronic mail message over the Internet addressed to either:
myriad-mayo_2014@uspto.gov, or alice_2014@uspto.gov.
Electronic comments submitted in plain text are preferred, but also
may be submitted in ADOBE[supreg] portable document format or MICROSOFT
WORD[supreg] format. Comments not submitted electronically should be
submitted on paper in a format that facilitates convenient digital
scanning into ADOBE[supreg] portable document format. The comments will
be available for viewing via the Office's Internet Web site (http://www.uspto.gov). Because comments will be made available for public
inspection, information that the submitter does not desire to make
public, such as an address or phone number, should not be included in
the comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raul Tamayo, Senior Legal Advisor,
Office of Patent Legal Administration, by telephone at 571-272-7728, or
Caroline D. Dennison, Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Patent Legal
Administration, by telephone at 571-272-7729.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Supreme Court recently issued a decision
in Alice Corp. (Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International,
573 U.S.----(2014)), which dealt with claims to a computerized scheme
for mitigating settlement risk. The Supreme Court held in a unanimous
decision that the claimed subject matter in question was not patent-
eligible because it was drawn to the abstract idea of intermediated
settlement implemented on a generic computer. The United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued preliminary instructions to the
patent examining corps and these preliminary instructions are available
on the USPTO's Internet Web site (patent examining corps guidance and
instructions can be found at: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/exam/examguide.jsp). The USPTO is inviting public comment on the Alice Corp.
preliminary instructions before providing more comprehensive guidance
to the patent examining corps. Written comments on the Alice Corp.
preliminary instructions must be received on or before July 31, 2014.
The USPTO is also extending the period for public comment on the
Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance. The USPTO published the Laws
of Nature/Natural Products Guidance on its Internet Web site (as
discussed previously, examining corps guidance and instructions can be
found at: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/law/exam/examguide.jsp). The
USPTO also published an announcement on its Internet Web site that it
was hosting a public forum (conducted on May 9, 2014) and providing
until June 30, 2014, for public comment on the Laws of Nature/Natural
Products Guidance. See Notice of Forum on the Guidance For Determining
Subject Matter Eligibility of Claims Reciting or Involving Laws of
nature, Natural Phenomena, and Natural Products, 79 FR 21736 (Apr. 17,
2014).
The USPTO has received several requests from our stakeholders for
additional time to submit comments on the Laws of Nature/Natural
Products Guidance. In addition, the Supreme Court in Alice Corp.
applied its framework from Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus
Laboratories, Inc., 566 U.S.----(2012), in determining whether the
claims in Alice Corp. were directed to a patent-ineligible abstract
idea. For these reasons, the USPTO is extending the period for public
comment on the Laws of Nature/Natural Products Guidance until July 31,
2014.
Dated: June 25, 2014.
Margaret A. Focarino,
Commissioner for Patents.
[FR Doc. 2014-15352 Filed 6-27-14; 8:45 am]
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