On October 17, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released an update to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance.
The update comes as a response to public comments received in response to the 2019 Patent Eligibility Guidance (2019 PEG) which was released in January.
In the release, the USPTO notes that the update does not change the 2019 PEG, but “provides further explanation on how the USPTO applies such guidance.” The update provides additional information on (1) Evaluation of whether a claim recites a judicial exception; (2) the groupings of abstract ideas enumerated in the 2019 Patent Eligibility Guidance; (3) evaluation of whether a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application; (4) the prima facie case and the role of evidence with respect to eligibility rejections; and (5) the application of the 2019 Patent Eligibility Guidance in the patent examining corps.
The October 2019 Update materials are available to the public on the Subject Matter Eligibility page of the USPTO website.