Memorandum to Patent Examining Corps: Supreme Court Decision in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (Associate Comm'r for Patent Examination Policy, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, March 21, 2012)

摘要

Yesterday, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that the claims in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (Mayo) effectively claim a law of nature and are not patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. ss 101. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide preliminary guidance to the Patent Examining Corps. Additional guidance on patent subject matter eligibility under 35 U.S.C. ss 101 will be issued soon.