A Logical and Lawful Application of § 101 Jurisprudence: The USPTO’s 2019 Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance

In recent years, 35 U.S.C. § 101 has been a topic of great concern within the patent bar due to uncertainty surrounding the patentability of inventions drawn to the three judicial exceptions to patent-eligible subject matter: abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature. In response to this lingering uncertainty and in an effort to provide for the lawful and consistent application of patent law, the United States Patent and Trademark Office released guidance as to the subject matter eligibility of claims drawn to judicial exceptions. This Article provides a review of § 101 jurisprudence, summarizes the USPTO Guidance, and presents an analysis of why the USPTO’s Guidance is both a lawful and logical application of patent law in view of the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit’s § 101 jurisprudence