What are some examples of limitations that courts have described as merely indicating a field of use?
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.
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Topics:
MPEP 2100 - Patentability,
MPEP 2106.05(H) - Field Of Use And Technological Environment,
Patent Law,
Patent Procedure