What are some examples of limitations that courts have described as merely indicating a field of use?

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 MPEP 2106.05(h) provides several examples of limitations that courts have described as merely indicating a field of use or technological environment. Here are some key examples:

• Limiting drug administration to patients with a specific disorder (Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs. Inc.)
• Identifying participants in a hedging process as commodity providers and consumers (Bilski v. Kappos)
• Limiting the use of a mathematical formula to determining the circumference of a wheel (Parker v. Flook)
• Specifying that audit log data relates to transactions executed in a computer environment (FairWarning v. Iatric Sys.)
• Limiting virus screening to a telephone network or the Internet (Intellectual Ventures I v. Symantec Corp.)
• Limiting the collection and analysis of data to the electric power grid (Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A.)
• Specifying that a budgeting abstract idea is implemented using a “communication medium” including the Internet and telephone networks (Intellectual Ventures I v. Capital One Bank)

These examples demonstrate that merely limiting an abstract idea or judicial exception to a particular field or technological environment is not sufficient to make a claim patent-eligible.