Section
01 ( But I am back, so let’s look at the latest on the Section 101 front.
Patent Eligibility Reform: The Opinion-Havers Have Opinions
Seemingly everyone (who might read this blog) has an opinion on the state of patent eligibility. Click (That’s sarcasm. The E Gene ” Congress The The conference featured Joseph Matal (Clear IP), Professor Kristen Osenga (University of Richmond School of Law) and retired Judge Randall R. Rader and was hosted by Michael Friedland (Friedland Cianfrani).
Speaking of Judge Rader, he authored a three-part series on patent eligibility at IP Watchdog (1, 2, 3). Part The authors write that “while PERA seeks to provide clarity, its language introduces potential sources of uncertainty, raising questions about its effectiveness in addressing the complexities of patent eligibility” and do a nice job of walking through these potential sources of uncertainty.
- The Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) laid out its reasoning for supporting PERA in this post.
- The USPTO Issues AI Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance
- Earlier this summer, the USPTO issued updated guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) as it relates to patent eligibility. The The most interesting guidance comes from the USPTO’s analysis of the sample claims.
- Looking at using AI neural networks to identify or detect anomalies, the USPTO provides the following two claims:
- An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for an artificial neural network (ANN), the ASIC comprising:
- a plurality of neurons organized in an array, wherein each neuron comprises a register, a microprocessor, and at least one input; and
- a plurality of synaptic circuits, each synaptic circuit including a memory for storing a synaptic weight, wherein each neuron is connected to at least one other neuron via one of the plurality of synaptic circuits.
A method of using an artificial neural network (ANN) comprising:
(a) receiving, at a computer, continuous training data;
(b) discretizing, by the computer, the continuous training data to generate input data;
[Claim 1](c) training, by the computer, the ANN based on the input data and a selected training algorithm to generate a trained ANN, wherein the selected training algorithm includes a backpropagation algorithm and a gradient descent algorithm;
(d) detecting one or more anomalies in a data set using the trained ANN;
(e) analyzing the one or more detected anomalies using the trained ANN to generate anomaly data; and
[Claim 2](f) outputting the anomaly data from the trained ANN.
The USPTO identifies one claim as eligible and one as ineligible. You The answer and a number of additional sample claims are available here.
Overcoming Gambling Legal Obstacles Is Not a Tech Solution to a Tech Problem
In Savvy Dog Systems v. Pennsylvania Coin, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the ineligibility of patent claims directed to “an electronic gaming system” that “previews the game to the player before the player commits to playing” where the preview would reduce “the role of chance in relation to the role of skill.” The The The The Cir. Mar. 21, 2024).
Miscellany
Another look at my open tabs:
We recently passed the 10-year anniversary of Alice. Ryan Ryan (Law360)
You’ve probably heard of the NO FAKES ACT (Patently-O), but you might not have heard of the ELVIS ACT (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security). Cat ( Jake Dennis (Patently-O)
Steven Gordon assesses federal agencies’ ability to alter or reverse regulatory policy in light of the recent Loper decision overruling Chevron. (Law360)
Charles Weiss looks at a recent Delaware decision regarding whether attaching a confidential settlement agreement to a filed complaint could serve as the basis for a counterclaim. Trade I (Football TV Network)
Medical good news: 1) a new type of vaccine has shown that it can reverse autoimmune diseases (UChicago Magazine), 2) a Cystic-Fibrosis breakthrough (The Atlantic) and 3) a pilot AI tool to flag cancer at its earliest stage (BBC)
Fall is approaching, and that means football and soccer season. Ray ( (
