How does MPEP distinguish between “particular” and “general” treatments?
The MPEP 2106.04(d)(2) provides guidance on distinguishing between “particular” and “general” treatments:
“[T]reatments that are ‘particular,’ i.e., specifically identified so that they do not encompass all applications of the judicial exception, are considered to integrate a judicial exception into a practical application.”
In contrast, general treatments are those that are not specific or targeted. The MPEP states:
“For example, consider a claim that recites mentally analyzing information to identify if a patient has a genotype associated with poor metabolism of beta blocker medications. This mental process step does not integrate the judicial exception into a practical application because it is a generic instruction to ‘apply’ the exception in a generic way (‘prescribe a lower than normal dosage of beta blocker medication to a patient identified as having the poor metabolizer genotype’).”
The key distinction is the level of specificity and targeting in the treatment described in the claim.
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