What does “mere instructions to apply an exception” mean in patent eligibility?
“Mere instructions to apply an exception” refers to claim elements that do not integrate a judicial exception (such as an abstract idea) into a practical application or provide significantly more than the exception itself. The Supreme Court has clarified that to be patent-eligible, claims must do “‘more than simply stat[e] the [judicial exception] while adding the words ‘apply it'”.
As stated in MPEP 2106.05(f):
“[C]laims that amount to nothing more than an instruction to apply the abstract idea using a generic computer do not render an abstract idea eligible.”
This means that simply implementing an abstract idea on a computer or using generic computer components is not enough to make a claim patent-eligible. The claim must include additional elements that go beyond merely applying the exception.
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