On December 15, 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office released its 2014 Interim Guidance on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility. The new guidance supplements the June 24, 2014 Preliminary Examination Instructions that were issued shortly after the Alice Corp decision, and supersedes the examination procedures issued on March 4, 2014 in response to Mayo and Myriad.

The new Guidance states that it “offers a comprehensive view of subject matter eligibility in line with Alice Corp, Myriad, Mayo, and the related body of case law.”  We are reviewing the new Guidance, and will have more insights in future posts.

The new Guidance takes effect on December 16, 2014, when it is set to publish in the Federal Register, and will apply to all applications filed before, on, or after that date.

The USPTO is seeking comments on the new Guidance, and will accept them until March 15, 2015.