The USPTO’s December 4, 2025 memorandum on Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations (SMEDs) seeks to raise awareness of the “underutilized path” of submitting Rule 132 declarations, referred to as “SMEDs”, for supporting §101...more
Section 101 eligibility remains one of the most unpredictable and frequently contested areas of U.S. patent practice, particularly for software, artificial intelligence, and machine learning....more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit once called the remedy for inequitable conduct “the atomic bomb of patent law.” Inequitable conduct is a defense against patent infringement that can render a patent...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has issued a decision in an ex parte appeal reversing an examiner’s final rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 101 of claims directed to artificial intelligence (AI) based business methods. Ex...more
Section 101 Blog If you work anywhere near patent eligibility, the rhythm is familiar. Another year, another reform drumbeat. Draft language circulates on the Hill. Industry groups publish letters. Academics and the familiar...more
What’s New: USPTO Embraces Evidence-Driven § 101 Practice - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued two coordinated memoranda explaining how applicants can use Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations...more
Key Takeaways - Easier path to eligibility: The USPTO’s new guidance explains how to use sworn statements (SMEDs) to provide facts showing an invention is eligible for a patent....more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued new guidance encouraging applicants to use subject matter eligibility declarations (SMEDs), highlighting their potential influence at all stages of the...more
On Dec. 4, 2025, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director Squires issued new guidance to patent examiners and applicants via a pair of memoranda (Guidance) encouraging the use of subject matter eligibility...more
In follow up to the August 4, 2025 guidance and September 26, 2025 In re Desjardins decision, the USPTO recently took another significant step to provide patentees pursuing patent protection additional tools to address patent...more
Every year has its “it” term.In 2025, the crown belonged to AI, and rightfully so. AI dominated the headlines, flooded the USPTO’s dockets, and triggered more §101 rejections than any examiner would care to admit. If you...more
On December 4, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a memorandum to the Patent Examining Corps reinforcing its existing subject matter eligibility framework under 35 U.S.C. § 101 and calling renewed attention to...more
Late last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published three memos addressing its latest policies regarding subject matter eligibility. These included “Subject Matter Eligibility Declarations” from Director...more
On December 4, 2025, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires issued two memoranda addressing subject matter eligibility and spotlighting an additional pathway to overcome a rejection under 35 U.S.C. §...more
Patent practitioners have seen a shifting landscape for patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. § 101 since the Supreme Court’s 2012 and 2014 seminal decisions in Mayo and Alice. Now, the United States Patent and Trademark Office...more
On November 4, 2025, the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) designated as precedential an appeals review panel (ARP) decision vacating the Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s § 101 rejection of claims...more
From a technical standpoint, everything a computer does involves reading, manipulating, and storing information through microcode instructions that move around 0’s and 1’s. Each operation performed by a processor, such as...more
On October 31, 2025, Director Squires spoke to the American Intellectual Property Law Association and provided a forceful statement on his view for the direction of patent law. Of particular interest were his comments on...more
The state of patent eligibility appeals under 35 U.S.C. § 101 before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is defined by a singular, overwhelming finding — abysmally low...more
In a rare procedural move, the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) director-convened Appeals Review Panel (ARP) recently vacated a § 101 rejection that had been introduced by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board...more
New U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director John Squires has been on the job less than a month, but he has already indicated a significant shift in the USPTO’s willingness to extend patent protection to artificial...more
Last week, the USPTO published a rare Appeals Review Panel (ARP) decision in Ex parte Desjardins, Appeal 2024-000567, September 26, 2025 (“ARP Decision”), that reversed a finding of ineligible subject matter in a patent...more
A significant Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision authored by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) leadership, including the new USPTO Director John A. Squires, signals the importance of artificial...more
Just days after John A. Squires was sworn in as the 60th Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on September 23, 2025, he convened the rarely used Appeals Review Panel (ARP) and issued a decision in Ex parte...more
Just a few days into his tenure as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, John A. Squires has sent a message to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to tone down its aggressive use of § 101. This message comes...more