Business method patents have recovered under the new 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance. As the graph above shows, allowances per office action (APOA) dropped from 17% before the 2014 Alice decision to 4% right after the Alice decision. APOA then increased to about 11% in 2017 when a new business method director, Tariq Hafiz was appointed. Tariq made a special point of encouraging examiners to allow cases if they genuinely felt the claims met the 101 guidelines set forth by the patent office. APOA rose to 17% in 2019 after the new 2019 Guidance came out in January. It is now back at its pre-Alice level of 17%. It’s still not easy to get a business method patent. An APOA of 17% implies that, on average, an applicant will have to respond to five rejections before getting an allowance. Nonetheless, it is now at least a realistic possibility to get a business method patent in a reasonable amount of cost and time.
Patent
- Enablement
- Fee Shifting
- Litigation
- Other Barks & Bites for Friday, March 31: Japan Restricts Chip-Making Exports, Ocado Scores UK High Court Win in Robotic Warehousing Case, and Judge Rejects Fair Use Defense for Internet Archive
- U.S. Government Sides with Teva in Skinny Label SCOTUS Fight
- Industry, NGOs Spar Over Need to Extend TRIPS COVID IP Waiver at ITC Hearing
- Software-Related U.S. Patent Grants in 2022 Remained Steady While Chinese Software Patents Rose 8%
- The Truth Leaks Out: Justices Struggle with the Science, Sanofi Welcomes End to Functional Genus Claims in Amgen Oral Arguments
Recent Posts
- Other Barks & Bites for Friday, March 31: Japan Restricts Chip-Making Exports, Ocado Scores UK High Court Win in Robotic Warehousing Case, and Judge Rejects Fair Use Defense for Internet Archive
- U.S. Government Sides with Teva in Skinny Label SCOTUS Fight
- Industry, NGOs Spar Over Need to Extend TRIPS COVID IP Waiver at ITC Hearing
- Software-Related U.S. Patent Grants in 2022 Remained Steady While Chinese Software Patents Rose 8%
- The Truth Leaks Out: Justices Struggle with the Science, Sanofi Welcomes End to Functional Genus Claims in Amgen Oral Arguments