How does the “particular machine” consideration apply to internet and software-related inventions?

This page is an FAQ based on guidance from the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure. It is provided as guidance, with links to the ground truth sources. This is information only: it is not legal advice.

The “particular machine” consideration for internet and software-related inventions requires careful analysis. These inventions often rely on general-purpose computers or networks, which may not inherently qualify as particular machines. Here’s how the consideration applies:

• The focus is on how the claimed invention uses the computer or network, not just the presence of these components.
• Software that improves the functioning of a computer itself may be considered to involve a particular machine.
• Mere implementation of an abstract idea on the internet does not automatically make it a particular machine.
• The claimed system should be more than a generic computer performing generic computer functions.

MPEP 2106.05(b) provides guidance: “When determining whether a claim recites significantly more than a judicial exception, examiners should consider whether the judicial exception is applied with, or by use of, a particular machine.”

The MPEP further states: “Integral use of a machine to achieve performance of a method may integrate the recited judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more, in contrast to where the machine is merely an object on which the method operates, which does not integrate the exception into a practical application or provide significantly more.”